It's a Hard Knock Life
by XenoProject
Summary: *First ever FanFic.. Be nice? :3* What if Gohan didn't turn into a wimp after the Cell Games? What if he kept training and actually protected the earth? The same basic plot will be followed, but it'll be a MUCH different journey and don't worry, there'll be plot twists. :) It's sorta dark and more 'realistic' (is that even a thing in DBZ?) *Some blood/action and mild ?(girl)xGohan*
1. Revelations

**A/N Wow, I can't believe I'm finally doing this! ^.^ My very first fanfic… ever. SO THANK YOU FOR STOPPIN' BY! I've always loved reading and writing, so what better place is there to start? I've read a few of these and only one other Gohan-centric story. I didn't want to get any ideas from them or latch on to some specific personality in one of the other fanfics with the same basic premise, so I decided to steer clear from them. I've got a good idea of how I want the story to go, I've got some plot points mapped out and some scenes that I'm really excited to make. :) There will also be some personality changes of characters (shocking I know), but they will be consistent and important to the story. That being said, I would love any and all input or opinions, reviews, anything to help me grow as a writer. I promise, I'll take advice to heart and work my ass off to improve and meet everyone's standards. Hope you all enjoy!**

 **Updates will hopefully be weekly on average, but I'm really inspired right now, so I think there'll be a few more before the week's up. :3**

It's a Hard Knock Life

Chapter 1

"It's all your fault Gohan, why didn't you destroy Cell earlier? I'd be alive and your mother and brother wouldn't be so alone. I had faith in you son… What were you thinking?" Goku's voice chimed out with a slight echo. "Yeah, bro what were you thinking?" This time Krillin's voice came forth.

 _Guys.. no, please…_

"Gohan, really why would you fail us like that? You took everything away from us. Everyone's savior is gone now and we're stuck with you. Vegeta doesn't even fight anymore either, you took his will to live. Such a disappointment." Piccolo's harsh voice was the next to pierce Gohan's psyche.

 _Piccolo! Not you too, why does no one understand!? I hate myself for what happened.. I.. I wish we could have traded places!_

"Gohan, how are we going to raise your brother now. He needs a father! Oh, if only Goku were here…"

 _Mom… why.. I can't take it back! I failed everyone! I'm worthless! I hate myself.. I let Dad die, took Vegeta's will to live, took everyone's best friend, widowed my mother, and left my little brother without a father.. Why… Why.. WHY AM I SO WEAK! ARGHH WHYYY!_

A golden yellow aura pulsated around a sleeping boy, growing larger and larger until it eventually covered the entire mountainside he was sleeping on. The harsh darkness of the midnight sky was suddenly shattered as the aura took on a flamelike appearance, with lightning snapping endlessly around the sleeping child. "ARGHH WHYYY!" The child's screams pierced through the night like a needle through cloth, his turquoise eyes snapped open and the light around him intensified. The golden aura now spiked out in every direction, expanding once again from the child, disintegrating everything in its path. The grass, dirt, rock, and any life in the area was immediately wiped from existence as the aura grew. After 30 feet of matter had been disposed of, the light halted and the boy finally came-to. "What—wait—where am I? Oh.. NO, NOT AGAIN! GOHAN WHAT ARE YOU DOING? Damnit, I'm such an idiot! I couldn't control my power then and I still can't now. I'm sorry everyone.. I really am." Tearing up, young Gohan slowly drifted back into his uneasy slumber, haunted by nightmares of that fateful event four days ago.

 **-Morning, 5th Day After Cell Games on an Unknown Mountain-**

The events of the Cell Games have came and went and Gohan was the eventual savior of the planet.. At a heavy price. The original hero, Goku was now dead, unable to return to life, and his rival, Vegeta, lost the will to fight. The Z Warriors were in shambles and their only hope for future fights, Gohan was in mental turmoil from those events, able to do little more than eat, sleep, and cry.

 **-Flashback to the End of The Cell Games-**

"Quick, Yamcha, get Gohan to the lookout! Dende needs to get to him before Other World does! Tien, follow him with Trunks' body and Krillin—" the bald monk slowly looked up to the alien with huge, pleading eyes and back to the stunning blonde woman laying covered in saliva on the ground "—do what you have to." Piccolo's deep, commanding voice rang out. "Right Away!" "Yes sir!" "On it!" The three Z warriors yelled back to their new stand-in leader and flew off with a burst of nearly transparent energy.

Blood stains marked the two spots where the warriors once laid. The larger of the two had once housed Trunks, with a gaping hole in his chest and cuts everywhere else. The purple-haired teen had been caught off-guard and paid for it with his life. A few yards away, Gohan's patch of blood stained sand was also freshly unoccupied. The 11 year old phenom that used to lay there had been beaten worse than anyone Piccolo had seen in his short life. Gohan had cuts and bruises in more places than Piccolo cared to count. Dende could heal most if it, however Gohan was in much, much worse condition than a few cuts and bruises. The boy had multiple cracked ribs on his right side and a few on the left. He had more than a couple cracks in different vertebrae from the beginning of the fight and a gaping gash across most of his forehead, down to the bone, which was fractured as well. The bone above his right eye was also broken and his jaw wasn't in much better shape. But none of that could really compare to the child prodigy's right arm and shoulder. Most of the muscle and ligaments had been ripped away and burnt off from Cells blast. It hit so hard that the shoulder bone tore through the skin and left the rest of his shoulder exposed to the elements. Essentially, his shoulder was gone, yet the boy still fought on and killed Cell. Piccolo scowled and grimaced at the pain his pupil must have went through, but couldn't help feeling an overwhelming sense of pride in Gohan.

 _You did damn well kid, your father's proud._

Noticing Vegeta was still floating above the battlefield, Piccolo decided to approach him. "You alright?"

"Fine. I need no one to take care of me." The Prince's smug voice came out strained with held back emotion and Piccolo took notice.

"No one was prepared for what happened today Vegeta. Gohan is a freak of nature, how any single being can be that strong, I'll have no idea. Don't blame yourself. Goku can be revived, so don't beat yourself up too much. You'll get your chance."

Vegeta scowled for a second, grunted and then took off towards the lookout. Heart heavy from the events of the day, Piccolo finally focused his attention on the few humans still present.

A rather large man with an unkept afro and singed facial hair hobbled up to Piccolo and proclaimed in a loud, dimwitted voice, "Uh-uh-yeah big green man, you see that? Cell got scared with his cheap tricks and ran off! Big idiot thought he could beat the champ! HAHAHA"

"Wow Mr. Satan, that's incredible! You're truly a hero, the world is saved! I've gotta go report on this, the people deserve to know what happened!" A mustached news reporter ran off in the direction of a capsized van and began to bustle about.

Next it was the three lackeys of Hercule's that decided to ham up the champ, praising him with compliment after compliment, even going so far as to compare him to Kami. Eventually, after what seemed like hours, they grew bored of lauding over him and Hercule waved the trio off to go over and help the news team.

He then looked over at Piccolo, and with a smug grin plastered on his face, asked the larger green man, "Well, whaddya think? I was pretty good, huh?" Seething with anger, Piccolo deepened his scowl and glared into the weaker man's eyes. Fury written all over his face, Piccolo closed the gap between them and swiftly clutched the man by the throat and lifted him a foot off the ground. His voice dripping with venom and barley contained hatred, Piccolo growled, "Out of respect for the privacy of Gohan and his family, I'll allow you to take credit for what has happened here today."—Hercule, now with eyes wide and full of terror vigorously nodded his head—"HOWEVER, you will not forget that you owe your life to Gohan and his father, Goku. They are the ones who saved the earth today. Not you. You're scum. Got it?"—again, vigorous nodding—"Good. Now, I'm off to go check on the real champion of the planet. Don't forget what truly has happened here today." Shooting Hercule one last death glare, Piccolo threw him a yard to the right and flew off with a blast of energy, to the lookout.

Piccolo arrived at his new home just in time to watch Dende start healing Gohan. The others were out of critical condition, due to a quick boost from the new guardian of Earth and began to rest. Those that weren't resting were staring at the young Son kid with watery eyes and unmasked sorrow, feeling for the warrior that saved them all and was no doubt in more pain than any of them could comprehend. ChiChi was the first to call out and break the uneasy silence, "DENDE, HEAL MY BABY BOY!" He simply nodded and looked down at Gohan, who was still breathing in short, ragged breaths, coughing up blood every so often and letting out involuntary groans whenever he was forced to move. Dende sighed and let the others know that he would do everything he could, but he'd never healed anyone nearly as strong as Gohan, so the results were a shot in the dark.

After an hour or so of healing, Dende proclaimed that Gohan was out of critical condition and well on his way to recovery, much to the relief of everyone present. The young Namekian wiped the sweat from his brow and looked at his handiwork. Apart from the many scars that decorated his body from other battles, Gohan had only acquired two more major trophies. One light mark across his brow that was set at an angle, slightly wider in the middle than the edges, but no wider than a quarter of an inch. The other was a jagged oval shape about three inches in diameter. The scar had a tail that went down few inches towards the bicep and ended. Once again, ChiChi broke the silence, "Can't you do anything about those marks? He'll look like a delinquent and never get into a good college and then what'll he do!?" Shaking her head, she pointed a finger at the healer, "FIX IT!" Staring at the ground, Dende said with a pleading look in his eye, "Ma'am, I'm sorry, I really can't do anything else right now. My ki is completely gone and I barely have enough to stand up."—One look from ChiChi was all she needed to confirm that this was the truth, the shorter Namekian had his shoulders slumped forward, knees wobbling, sweat pouring down his face, and was breathing in short gasping breaths.—"Your son is incredibly strong and it took everything I had to heal all of his wounds without any negative side effects. I started from his muscle tissue and bones and worked my way out. I simply didn't have enough power to finish regrowing his skin perfectly. If he wants to, we can recut open the skin and grow it back again once my power has restored, but personally, I don't want to put Gohan through anymore hardship than he already has." ChiChi only nodded and sat back down, white faced and shaking, longing to comfort her baby boy.

"Okay everyone, this is what's going to happen. We take Gohan to a bed and let him sleep for a while. Once he wakes up, we can summon Shenron and wish all the madness caused by Cell to be undone. It'll be a bit of a struggle, but I think we can get Goku back, if we go to New Namek. But for now, let's wait. We can all stay here until then." Piccolo once again too the position as leader and instructed the group on how to go forward. Glancing at the group, he smirked at all of the hopeful faces, took one last look at Gohan and flew off to go make sure the world was as it should be.

~~~~~—~~~~~

A while later, Piccolo felt Gohan's ki spike, signaling that he was regaining consciousness, so he quickly began the short journey back to the lookout. Upon arrival, he witnessed a scene that almost made him smile. Gohan was on his ass in the center everyone, with a bewildered, half awake look as his mother doted on him, praising him and hugging him, in an almost frantic over loving manner. The rest of the crew just sat back and watched, some with small smiles, others barely containing laughter. Spirits were high, Cell was dead, Gohan was alright, and everything made it through… except for Goku, who could be brought back without much trouble.

Clearing his throat, Piccolo called for Dende to grab the Dragon Balls and everyone naturally gathered around. With a quick glance at Gohan and a small smirk, Piccolo made a statement, "Gohan, you did great kid, so we'll give you the honors of calling forth Shenron and making the wishes." A small nod from the kid showed he had heard, and after a brief pause, he called out in a voice more powerful than any 11 year old should have, "Shenron, O mighty dragon, I call you forth!"

The seven orbs began to glow with a deep golden light. The stars shone with a brighter yellow, eventually expanding out to encompass the entire cylinder, before magically forming a perfect circle. A split second later, a single bolt of lightening flowed through the circle. As this was happening, unnatural pitch black clouds flowed overhead, seemingly from nowhere. Then, another single bolt screamed down from the heavens and struck the center of the ring. A blinding light followed and then the dragon was there.

In a deep booming voice that seemed to come from everywhere at once, the dragon stated in a neutral tone, "You who have awakened my slumber, I shall grant you two wishes. State them now."

"Yes Shenron, uh… I would like to wish that all of the people killed by Cell back to life!"

The towering dragon's red eyes intensified into a bright red that would too bright to directly look at.

"It is now done. State your next wish.

This time Piccolo stepped in. "As I expected, this dragon had the same model as the last, so Goku can't be revived again."—terror clawed at Gohan's face and he let out an involuntary wimper—"However, I have an idea. We ask the dragon to wish a few of us to New Namek and we revive them there." The boys eyes quickly lit up, full of fire and the color back in his face and he began to speak again "Alright Shenron I want you to—"

"Wait, guys, I don't think that'll work.." Goku's voice also seemed to come from everywhere at once. The entire crew, save Gohan, looked around with questioning faces, in shock. "Well why not!?" ChiChi practically screamed, panic edging into her voice. "Well, there's a couple reasons. I've actually been thinking and you guys know how basically every major threat to earth was after me? Raditz, Nappa, Vegeta, Frieza, the androids, Cell, and pretty much everyone else from the early days. Well if I'm not there, they won't really have any reason to attack. Plus, if they do, Gohan will take care of 'em easy! He's way stronger than I am now, and I have nothing to teach him. I'm proud of you, son."—Gohan sat there, shell shocked, tears flowing freely from each eye. His blood ran cold and the pit in his stomach expanded almost made the boy double over in emotional pain. All he could do was nod.—"The second reason is that the higher-ups here won't let me go back. They say they have some plans for me, something about atoning for me killing a Kai. They say I owe them some service to balance everything out, but that's about they've told me.." Goku's voice trailed off and even though the Saiyan tried to his best to keep his voice upbeat and happy, there was no masking the enormous weight of the sadness that he felt.

The mood took a sudden downturn and everyone turned to Gohan, the tension so high it was almost suffocating. Waiting for his reaction, no one made a sound. Realizing this, Gohan simply looked at everyone, with red eyes and tears still present. He attempted a smile but ultimately failed. After a few tries at a sentence, he eventually choked out a few words,"I…I'm sorry ev-v-veryone… Its my fault… Mom, I'm sorry" His voice trailed off and he looked down at the tiles on the ground.

"Gohan, no don't say that. None of this is your fault. If it wasn't for you, none of us would even be here right now. You can't do this, you need to be strong for me, your mother, everyone here, the entire earth,… and"—Goku hesitated here, wondering if he should continue. Ultimately, he chose to have faith in his son—"your little sibling that'll be here soon… You have a responsibility now, okay?" Gohan's eyes snapped open, in terror and he desperately looked at his mother, who gave him a small, sad smile.

Pain. Loss. Anger. Hatred. Self loathing. These five emotions consumed the entirety of the child, crippling him, ingraining themselves so deeply that they'd play an integral role in his entire life. With wide, terror filled eyes, he jumped up and stumbled back a couple of steps. The weight of what he'd done had finally hit him dead on, threatening to crush the frightened child. He managed to stammer out in a small voice, "I-I…. I'm sorry…" before he gathered energy and launched himself off the lookout, flying to Kami knows where.

"Damnit son, I'm the one who should be sorry. What kind of a father puts his son in that heavy of a situation…" Goku's depressive tone rang out in the silence. "I know what you were trying to do there Goku, but your son doesn't work the same way you do. He's always been more gentle and for some reason, lacks self confidence."

"I know ChiChi, but I thought he'd react a bit differently…"

"It's okay sweetie, you meant no harm."

As ChiChi's voice trailed off, another oppressive silence overtook the lookout.

"Well guys, I'm sorry, but I've got to go and find out what's going on here. Everyone, I want you to train as hard as you can"—Vegeta spat from the corner he was perched at and shook his head, lifted it and with a dead, emotionless voice stated, "I'm done Kakarot, you've bested me in more ways than one. My pride won't let me fight anymore." And with that he flew off.

"No, Vegeta! You can't just say you're done! You have to train and fight and be there for my son, like I can't be." Goku's voice wavered and he didn't even bother to try to hide the panic creeping into his voice. This time Bulma spoke up, "Don't worry Goku, we'll talk some sense into that pig headed idiot. He'll come around, don't worry about anything!"

A light, humorless chuckle escaped the late Saiyan, "Thank you, Bulma. Okay, now everyone, I've really got to go. I'm sorry and I really do love you all, but I'm leaving you in good hands! ChiChi… please be strong for our son and next kid. You're the pillar and I'm so proud of the mother you've become. I'm way too lucky for my own good, and just know that even from over here, I'll love you until we meet again. Gohan"—Goku mentally kicked himself again, realizing that Gohan could hear every word of the conversation that they were having, due to the nature of the communication. He would no doubt blame himself for Vegeta's pain as well. Just another thing he failed at as a father he thought to himself—"I need you to hang in there buddy. I'm so proud of the person you're becoming. You've earned this time to yourself and I hope things start to fall into place. I love you more than you know, son…. Okay, guys, sorry for the short goodbyes, but I've really gotta go! I'll try my best to keep in touch. Until next time!" Goku sent a mental image of himself, with his signature grin on his face and a golden ring of light above his head, waving one last heartfelt goodbye to everyone.

For minutes that seemed to drag on into hours, no one said a word. No one moved. They all just stood there, shocked, trying to absorb all of the information they had just received. Even Piccolo didn't know what to do, and he just stood there. It seemed that the situation would carry on like this for eternity, until the dragon spoke once again, "Tell me your last wish, mortal."

No one spoke for a minute, then Krillin had an idea and discussed it with the group. There were no arguments, as no one really cared what the last wish was made on at the moment. "Shenron! Can you turn the androids back into humans?"

"I cannot do this, as they are already humans. State your wish."

Krillin's head hung for a moment, before a figurative lightbulb flashed in his head, "Well can you make the bombs inside of them disappear? That should make them be a little more human.."

"Yes, you're wish shall be granted."

The dragon's eyes glowed red once more.

"I've granted two wishes. I shall go back to my slumber once more."

As Shenron finished speaking, another blinding flash of lightning struck the ground. The beast was gone. The ring of orbs then sprung into the air and exploded outwards, streaking across the sky before coming to rest once more, waiting to be found again.

For what seemed like the hundredth time that day, silence reined supreme. No one had the heart to try and speak, not daring to say the wrong thing, or to preoccupied with their own thoughts to interact with others. Minutes went by and again the silence was shattered.

The winds around the lookout began to whip around, moving much faster than naturally possible. The air became charged with power that even the untrained mind could sense. Immediatley, the Z-Fighters snapped their heads in the same direction. A massive amount of ki was just released and it was climbing at an astonishing rate. "What the hell..?" Yamcha wondered out loud. The ki kept flowing around with more and more intensity, feeling hostile, angry at the world. The amount of power was staggering and if it wasn't controlled, could completely shake apart the planet and right now, no one was in control. "Gohan?" Krillin asked in a shaky voice, already knowing the answer.

"Gohan." Piccolo's grave voice confirmed Krillin's question.

 **Ending A/N**

 **Wow, first chap and already a minor cliffhanger! Hate me if you wanna, but it needed to happen! :3 In all honesty, I didn't want to make the chapter too much longer and it seemed that here was a sort of natural stopping point. I made this over the span of a couple days, so if you see any inconsistencies or anything, just let me know. Next chapter soon!**

 **Thanks again for reading! :)**


	2. Life Goes On

**A/N So I think the first chapter was pretty well received, I'm writing this the day after I released the first chapter and theres a little over a hundred views, four follows, and four favorites. So I think that's good? (no idea, really) But anyways, thanks to everyone reading, means a lot! :)**

 **Also, two reviews.**

 **Guest Thanks so much! :D**

 **Reign Of Sorrow Thank you as well! :) I hope I can live up to expectations.**

 **Last time, we had Gohan running off after finding out his mother was pregnant, but what'll happen now? The chapter will probably be around the same length of the first one, so let me know what you think! I feel like I probably need the most work in pacing, though, so definitely let me know if its good or not. Thanks!**

Chapter 2

 **-Continue Flashback-**

Looking around at all the shocked faces, Gohan left the lookout, he flew off in a panic, not knowing what to do. The child had the literal weight of the world on his shoulders earlier that day, felt he was responsible for his father's death, widowed his mother, hurt his friends, and worst of all, ensured his little sibling would grow up without a father. Waves of guilt and pain crashed against his psyche, threatening to shatter the small mental barrier he carried around his emotions.

The 11 year old's mind raced as he flew around, with no destination in mind. He just wanted to get away. The boy knew he needed to calm down and recover from the mental shock that he'd just experienced.

If only it were that easy. A few minutes later, he found out that it was his fault Vegeta didn't want to fight anymore. This pushed Gohan closer yet to his breaking point. While he was never the biggest fan of Vegeta's, the man had changed and started a family. He was no longer the evil prince that sought to destroy earth and Gohan respected him for it. Gohan would have to live with the guilt that he ripped away the only thing that Vegeta lived for, leaving the Saiyan an empty shell of what he once was.

He dwelled on it, adding more and more negative emotions to his already damaged psyche. Self hatred and regret were now the two most blinding feelings he knew. Those bred rage, contempt, more hatred, fear, and a lack of self esteem. The vile thoughts blew around in his head faster than gale force winds, forcing the child to land on a remote mountain, to concentrate on not losing control. He could still hear every word his father said and when it came to goodbyes, Gohan was half a step off the bridge into an ocean of deep despair and uncontrolled rage.

Once he heard his father's heartfelt, sorrowful goodbye to his mother, Gohan completed the step. Diving into the pit, he didn't even hear his father's very last words. All he could hear was the own voice inside his head.

 _It's my fault, mine, I screwed up, I'm not worthy of these people, I screwed over so many people who loved my father and now he's gone! Why didn't I just listen! If I'd actually listened to Dad instead of getting cocky, he'd still be here. He acts like he's fine with it, but I know he'd rather be here. He acts like he doesn't blame me, but he_ has _to. It's my fault! It's the same with everyone else, they all probably hate me now too because of what I've done. I wouldn't be surprised if they never talked to me again. Kami, I'm such an idiot. I'm pathetic! And mom… I think I feel the worst about her. She has to go through those nine months knowing that her child won't have a father. That's screwing up an entire kid's life! My own flesh and blood got screwed over by my mistake worse than everyone else. ARGH WHY!?_

Finally losing his grip, a powerful golden aura exploded around the tormented boy. A vein throbbed on his head and his hair started to stand on end, shining with pure golden energy. His eyes closed in silent struggle, he gave in completely, giving himself over fully to his angry, animalistic Saiyan instinct. "ARGHH.. AHH…AHHHHHHH!" Gohan screamed louder than any other could, power coursing his entire body, strengthening every aspect of him. The voice had unconstrained rage, hatred, and a bloodlust that just wasn't right for an 11 year old boy to have. Seeing nothing but red and feeding off every negative emotion inside of him, Gohan continued his ascent. His hair now stood fully on end, with the exception of one piece that hung down around his forehead. The harsh golden color of his hair grew in intensity until it looked less like hair and more like energy. Lightning flowed around him, crackling and shooting off in random directions. The air itself became heavy, laden with sheer power, anything in the vicinity flew up and turned to nothing. Yet still the boy pushed on, digging deeper inside of himself for more power.

It hurt Gohan to push himself this far, but he didn't care. The pain felt good, every second he was in agony was a slight atonement for the sins he had committed. So he continued torturing himself, not bothering to keep his energy compressed on his body. He was too far gone to care what happened to anything else, so he just went on, his voice still raging, filled with too much emotion. Within a minute, the entire mountain he was on collapsed, coming down on Gohan, only to be denigrated a foot from his body. Not caring, Gohan pushed on, unleashing more and more power onto a world that simply wasn't ready for it.

Feeling the reserves of his power run dry, or rather found a wall that acted as a barrier to Kami-knows-what, Gohan desperately threw himself at it, making every muscle in his body burn, like thousands of scorching hot needles were all being stuck into him at once. But, he pushed through, craving more pain, craving to cause pain, wishing Cell could be reborn, just so Gohan could murder the bastard over and over, making Cell pay for taking his father away. He started to feel the wall give way, ever so slightly, so he redoubled his efforts pounding away at the power stop. Eventually, he almost succeeded. He got distracted by a sharp pain below the small of his back, burning like someone dripped molten metal there. The pain was so intense that Gohan focused on that alone and yelled once more, raising his power higher, to expel whatever it was that hurt him. After a bit, the pain intensified and Gohan grew even angrier, finally shattering the barrier that blocked out his power. The second the barrier shattered, the pain stopped.

Looking at the absolutely staggering amount of sheer power available to him, Gohan sought to dive in and punish himself further, not caring about anything else. However, just before Gohan took the leap for a second time a stern, but loving voice stopped him.

"Gohan, stop. NOW!"

Upon hearing the tone in his father's voice, Gohan immediately did as he was told, without thinking. He had only heard that tone only one other time, when they were on Namek and Goku had went Super Saiyan for the first time. The winds died down, but he remained transformed.

 _….Dad?_

"Yes, son. Calm down. Stop this, you're endangering the entire planet at this rate."

The child looked down at the ground in guilt.. _Oh…Sorry Dad._

"It's fine, but Gohan let me tell you something. I don't have much time so listen closely ok?" The man's voice was tinged with emotion.

 _Mhm_

This time Goku took a shaky breath that showed just how tough these next few words would be, "Don't blame yourself, Gohan. If anything, this is all my fault. What was I thinking? What kind of a father puts his son in a situation like that? I—" Gohan looked up and started to protest—"No son, let me finish. I know I failed you as a father and your mother as a husband. I hate to admit it, but this much is true. I've been gone most your life and let you get into situations grown men shouldn't even have to experience. I couldn't teach you anything more than how to fight. I couldn't give you anything else and now I left you feeling this way. And for that, I'm sorry son. I truly am, I hope you'll forgive me."

Allowing a brief pause, Goku continued on, this time with a little more conviction in his voice.

"Son, I can't stress this enough. Don't blame yourself. I know every emotion that ran through you during that fight. The exact same thing happened on Namek when I first transformed. Rage, anger, bloodlust, a primal desire for a challenge. I let these desires control me son and because of that, an entire planet was destroyed. I failed an entire race and it was only thanks to you guys that they were saved. I can only imagine what you went through, being so much stronger and at such a young age. I screwed up putting you in that situation… I.. I'm sorry again, son. But you.. you didn't even come close to failure. You destroyed Cell without letting those feelings consume you. I'm proud of you son. Because of you, the entire universe is safe and you should take pride in that."

By now, tears were again flowing freely down the now black haired child, his head rolled back on his shoulders, looking at the sky, searching for the face of the man he admired so much.

"And Gohan, that's not all. I can't even begin to explain how much I've screwed up letting it get to this point. You shouldn't have even had to fight Cell in the first place. I had the chance to stop Gero, but I didn't. I was too weak to finish the job and everything after that was my fault. You're not the one to blame at all, Gohan. It's all me, all of this is my fault. Let go of your fear and guilt and give it to me, their mine anyways. I love you son, please don't suffer because of me."

Gohan just nodded and fell back. His father's words had some effect on him, but they couldn't quite shake the sense of self loathing or guilt from his core. He knew, in the pit of his stomach, that if he had been stronger, that everyone would have been alive and he wouldn't be putting his father through so much pain right now.

"Now I need you to listen carefully for this last part, ok? This is extremely important."—Another nod—"I'm sorry for asking this of you son, I know it just further shows how horrible of a dad I am, but I need you to train. Train as hard as you can, harder than we did in the Time Chamber. You are now the defender of Earth and now, even the universe. You're its protector. No father should be putting this much of a burden on his son's shoulders, especially since I know you don't love fighting as much as me or Vegeta, but you're the only one that can. I'm sorry I failed you again son." Goku let out a shaky breath and prepared to finish his little speech, but Gohan interrupted him.

 _No, Dad. Don't worry at all. It's my fault you're there and not here, so I'll train. I'll get stronger than anyone and I'll take on that burden. Don't feel bad about it, I love fighting just as much as anything else and I'll convince Mom. Thank you for believing in me so much.._

There was a slight pause before Goku began again, and Gohan swore he could hear a sniffle, "That means a lot son, thanks. But I'm only telling you this because I think something huge is happening sooner or later. They wouldn't just keep me here for no reason. Something evil will be back, so we all need to be as strong as possible to fight it. You can tell Vegeta and Piccolo, but I want to let everyone else enjoy the peace a bit, ok?"

 _Of course Dad, I'll make sure everyone's ready._

"Good. One last thing Gohan."

 _Huh?_ Gohan didn't know how much more there could be at this point.

"I love you, son don't ever forget that. I can't even begin to tell you how proud I am of you. Don't let your guilt get to you, I don't blame you and I know for a fact no one else does. Everything will work out and I'll keep in touch. Oh, and be sure to have Vegeta train your tail! Gotta go Gohan, train hard. Talk to ya later!"

And in classic Goku fashion, he left Gohan to his own thoughts, albeit on a happier note than before.

 _Yeah, I love you too Dad.. Wait, tail!? What tail!?_ He felt around to examine the new appendage and sure enough, sprouting from below the small of his back, a brown, furry, muscle laden tail was there. Staring at it in shock, his mind began to race.

 _What'll I do about this? Should I cut it back off? Or should I keep it? Well, I feel a lot stronger now that it's back and Dad did tell me to train it, but isn't that crazy? What if I look at the moon? Oh wait, Piccolo destroyed it, but still… Aghh, no I should keep it. Dad said to get stronger, so I'll do that. I'll get Vegeta to train me starting next week, I should give him space since… since.._

Guilt washed back over the young child.

 _Damnit Gohan… Ugh. Well… I should go back to see if everyone's okay.. I need to tell Piccolo and Vegeta about everything and go talk to mom._

 _Good. Ok. You can do this Gohan. Act happy, like nothing's bothering you… Well, here it goes._

 ** _-End Flashback, Morning 5 After Cell Games-_**

A light, cool breeze woke up the tailed boy asleep in a crater made the night before. Looking up and around in a daze, he slowly sat up and looked around.

 _C'mon Gohan, you've gotta stop doing this. Ever since I almost blew up the house, I haven't been able to sleep an entire night at home._

He bowed his head, taking a moment of silence, taking in what he'd done. He shook his head and wiped the sleep from his eyes. Putting on a strong, neutral mask, he nodded once and began to fly home.

 _Alright, I better go check on mom and stretch out. It looks to be about six, so she should be making breakfast right now. I'll get some training in and then study and I'll probably go to Vegeta's after and keep training my tail. Man, that hurts._

Gohan absentmindedly grasped his tail and a light smile played at his lips. Mid trip home, he flew over a village that looked all too familiar. Stopping, suspended in mid air above the quaint little place, he began to think.

 _Ok, what was this place again? I remember it so well…. Oh! There's the rubble from that dome I destroyed before the Cell Games! Yeah, and that nice man and girl I saved…. Lime I think was her name? I remember now. They wanted me to come back after everything's over.. with Dad…_

A downcast expression now overtook his face and he floated off towards home, feeling yet another fresh wave of grief and guilt.

 _Maybe I'll go back over later, they must have been watching on TV, so they'll know what happened, but still. I don't want to face them yet, maybe later._

A few minutes later, the familiar little house that held so many memories appeared. He put the same mask as before and walked into the house. "..Hi mom." Gohan hesitantly called out to his mother.

"Oh! Honey, how are you? How did you sleep?" Chi Chi rushed over to her son and began to fuss over him. She noticed his red puffy eyes and tear stained cheeks, and frowned slightly, worrying for her only son and pulled him into a warm, loving embrace, seeking to protect him from his own feelings. "Rough night, huh? Don't worry, you're alright." She cast a weak smile towards her son and broke the embrace, returning to her cooking. "Breakfast will be ready soon, go get ready!"

Nodding, Gohan went outside to stretch and do some light practice on fighting form and before long, Chi Chi called for breakfast. He was greeted by a stack of perfectly cooked, golden brown pancakes a foot high, dozens of scrambled eggs, an entire pig worth of bacon, and a mountain of rice all laid out on the table. "Thanks for the food!" Gohan thanked his mother before diving in to the pile of food before him.

Chi Chi allowed herself a small smile, reminiscing about the days that the three of them would share together, putting away more food than humanly possible. The good natured haggling and banter around the table, relaxing in the sun, enjoying life at a slow pace and loving every second of it. She just stood there for a minute, watching her son, lost in thought, before seating herself and digging in.

After breakfast was finished, Gohan announced that he was going to go train for a while and was almost out the door when Chi Chi called, "Ok, son just be back in a few hours to do you're school work! Education is still important!"

"Yeah mom, don't worry I'll be back soon!" and with that, Gohan left to go and train, using the techniques his father taught him, focusing more on technique and form rather than raw power. He could do that later. Several hours passed before Gohan was satisfied with the work he put in and went back to his house, to appease his mother and study. From what his mother told him, he was already completing high school courses years ahead of the national pace, causing his mother to be proud. He was happy to make her happy, after causing so much pain, plus he enjoyed learning new things, so he actively pursued the education Chi Chi offered.

After completing the required courses, Gohan headed out to Capsule Corporation, to go and train his tail and focusing on raising his strength in the gravity chamber. He had convinced Vegeta to train with him, appealing to the Saiyans love and desire to protect his family, relaying the information Goku gave. Vegeta had changed drastically after the Cell Games. He was still the same on the surface, acting arrogant and proud, but behind closed doors he was much more caring and willing to open up. The prince had finally matured into a man willing to be a father, almost willing to take on the title as king. He would now open up to Gohan and talk about what happened, even going so far as to support the younger demi. He was now a much better person and Gohan was glad to have him training again. That was at least some weight lifted from his shoulders. However, the prince was still as much of a hard-ass as ever during training, never taking a break, which Gohan was thankful for.

The training and schoolwork were good for him, keeping the boy busy, free from the dark thoughts that plagued him at night. Gohan tried his best to take his dad's words to heart and move on, but he simply couldn't. The nights were more than enough proof of that. Yet, he didn't tell anyone. He masked all the uncertainty, doubt, and self hatred relatively well, functioning normally throughout the day. He did a good job of building walls around the problem, creating an impenetrable barrier around the deep pit of negative emotions, rather than addressing it head on. He knew it was wrong, but it was working well enough and secretly, Gohan liked the feelings of hurt, he felt it helped him atone.

Whatever the case, the days continued like this with nothing really changing. The Z-Fighters kept improving themselves and dealt with the loss in their own way. Gohan gradually grew more and more accustomed to his tail and now had it trained to be impervious to anyone grabbing it. Even though Vegeta couldn't teach Gohan any more than he already had, he still went over extremely regularly to train and Piccolo even joined on occasion. While there was no real improvement to his damaged psyche, Gohan was busy, distracting himself from it.

Flying home again one day, Gohan stopped again over the quaint little village that housed the curious duo of the Old Man and Lime. It had been a couple months since the Cell Games and Gohan felt obligated to let them in on what happened. They were so kind and deserved to have everything explained. Steeling his determination and setting his face into as much of a smile as he could muster, Gohan descended down into the village, ready to face a part of his past.

 **A/N Whew! There ya go, chapter 2 is up. :) It was tough to write and to find time to write, I've been working 9 days in a row and going to leave for the 10th in a few minutes. Crazy hours, but good money, so can't complain too much.**

 **AAAnyways, I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter, I'll probably go back and edit little bits and pieces of it, but for the most part it's done. Next chapter we have some more character dev and a couple new POV's! I know its sorta slow, but I want to take time and flesh out the characters, so they'll have motivation to do what they'll do later on in the story. As always, tips and advice are more than welcome, so yeah!**

 **Until next time! ^.^**


	3. Endings and New Beginnings

**A/N Okay, wheeeeew, this chapter was a doozy to wright, so I hope you all think it's decent! Things happened and stuff, so just read on to find out. :3**

 **Replies!**

 **Reign- Glad you like it! And seriously, thanks for the support, it means a lot. It's all to easy to doubt myself on here and I'll try to take what you said to heart, so thanks :)**

 **Djberneman- Hey, glad to see you and thanks for the review! Ok, to answer the first question, no. Gohan regrew his tail for other reasons, loss, hormones, and the fact that Saiyans can regrow tails in DB/Z/GT. He gained a lot of potential power from regrowing his tail, sorta like Goku did when he regrew his tail in GT, but I don't think he had enough energy to go SS3. I feel like it would be kinda silly if he did, I mean that scene was shortly after he went SS2 for the first time. The way I see it is that he had the potential to almost 'max out' SS2, but never got the chance to draw into that power because Goku stopped him. I didn't do a great job explaining that, so sorry for it! Hope the explanation made sense, heh. And second answer, what I meant by train his tail was to take away the weakness that both Goku and Radditz had. As of now, he hasn't trained in Oozaru form. And about the tail's significance, well you'll see later on ;3 hope you enjoy!**

 **Drama Llama-Sama- Damn man, thanks for the review and I'm glad you like it! You'll see how it all pans out and you do have really, reaaallyy good points that you brought up and I'll be sure to note them. :) I agree, though and I wish they would have revisited the whole Lime thing later on, but oh well I guess. I'm glad you're enjoying so far and hope to keep you entertained!**

Forcing the same smile he wore all too often, Gohan started to make his slow descent, going over in his mind what he would say to two people in particular. He still had no idea how everything would go, but Gohan felt that the truth was the best route to take and since his father trusted them enough to confirm that they were fighting Cell, it was the least he could do. Plus, even if Gohan didn't know it himself, he really wanted someone uninvolved to talk to about it.

A few seconds later, when Gohan was a few feet above the ground, a familiar voice rang out, bringing him back to reality, "Goohaaaaaan!" It was the voice of a young girl, filled with happiness, relief, and so many general good vibes that Gohan looked over and almost broke into a real smile. His eyes widened slightly as the girl dashed over and the second he landed, tackled him into an energetic embrace. Shocked, Gohan allowed her weight to knock him over and despite himself, actually broke into an incredibly rare genuine smile.

"Hey Lime, it's been a while, huh?" Gohan's voice was warmer than it had been in weeks.

Her emerald eyes locked onto his for a second and her smile slowly vanished. To Gohan's surprise, it was replaced by an accusing scowl and she jumped up and pointed a finger at the confused demi.

"And WHOSE fault is that?! Geez Gohan, it's been months and I was so worried about you! I couldn't check to see if you were ok, because I don't know where you live. After the TV blanked out, me and grandpa were curious to see what happened. That dummy Satan guy took all the credit for fighting Cell, but we know that it was you guys. We were so worries, sheesh. Anyways, come on silly, let's go see Grandpa! Oh, and I've got to introduce you to my parents.. Oh where to first. Hmmmm.. Let's go see that old man, he's been wondering about you too, ya know."

It was the usual. Gohan just sat there and listened as Lime talked on and on about everything, dragging him around, but he enjoyed it. However, at the mention of Cell, Gohan nearly slipped up. His face darkened for a second, but he quickly recovered and put on the same smile as when he arrived, without Lime noticing.

 _Keep your composure, Gohan, you've gotta stay strong right now…. I can do this_

"O..Okay, yeah sure Lime, let's go see Mr. Lao!"

She looked back, grabbed his hand, and gave a warm smile. But, before she turned back around, she spotted a weird, furry… _tail_ coming from her friend. Eye's widening, she stammered out, "uh… G-Gohan? What's that?"

Letting out a nervous laugh, Gohan quickly responded, "Well that's my tail! I was born with it and it grew back. I usually keep it hidden, but I forgot to after training today… Promise not to tell anyone?"

She nodded, then caught herself, "Well everyone except for grandpa!"—Gohan sighed then nodded and tucked his tail away—"Good, okaaaay, let's go see grandpaaaa!"

Gohan couldn't help but laugh to himself a bit, Lime was obviously baffled by the new information, but tried to act mature and dismiss it, not wanting to press him too much for answers. He silently thanked her and allowed himself to be led to Mr. Lao.

Before they arrived, Gohan could hear the rhythmic thumping of metal against wood, along with the similar rise and fall of Mr. Lao's ki. It interested Gohan how the old man seemed to have some control over his life energy, but that would explain how he knew about the strength of the demi and his father. Before he could think into the matter too much further, Lime announced that the two had arrived. Mr. Lao looked up and smiled at Gohan with sad, knowing eyes.

"Gohan my boy, how've you been holdin' up?"

Gohan's eyes started to burn again, holding back tears as he thought of his father. He struggled to correct himself quickly, but couldn't do it quick enough to escape the watchful eyes of the duo. Both knew, or at least had suspicions about what happened to Goku, and this seemed to confirm it.

"I-I…Well, uh, I've been fine Mr. Lao. I've actually came here to apologize for not coming back for so long." Gohan let out a shaky breath, finally regaining most of his composure. With a sinking feeling, he realized that they both probably knew about his father and started to mentally prepare himself to retell some of the events that happened that day. He knew he needed to and more than that, he subconsciously yearned for someone to listen that didn't know his father.

"Mmmhm, I see. Well there's no reason at all for you to be sorry young man"—Lime shook her head accusingly and smiled at Gohan—"Though, I do have to say I am curious as to what happened after the cameras stopped working." Mr. Lao's voice was soft and kind, letting the question hang in the air, giving the tailed boy a moment to gather himself.

"Yeah, a lot's happened.. Kind of a long story for everything to make sense. I can tell you to if you promise to keep it a secret and if you've got the time." Gohan offered up a weak smile.

"We've got all the time in the world, well after I finish chopping up the firewood that is."

"Oh don't worry about that Mr. Lao, I can do it in a few seconds!"

The old man actually gaped at this, not believing that a huge pile of wood could be chopped up and stacked that fast. Shaking his head with a chuckle, he decided to believe the boy. "Well, you can finish up here with Lime then, I'll go put on some tea. You two come on in when you're ready." And with that, Mr. Lao strode off into his house.

"Can you really do it that fast, Gohan?" Lime's emerald eyes were wide with disbelief. Gohan let out a quick laugh and nodded.

"Of course, I try not to lie, just stand back and watch, but don't tell anyone, ok?" Once Lime nodded, Gohan began to focus. He looked at the wood pile, it was stacked in a neat pyramid shape, which would make chopping them that much easier. Deciding to go with a few simple blades made of ki, Gohan stared at the logs. He grunted and extended his palm outwards, with his fingers up, letting out a grunt. All at once, the wood all split into two, with a sharp snap. Less than a second later, Gohan let out another grunt and the wood split in half again, making each round log into four useable pieces. He then exercised even more ki control and moved the pile of freshly cut wood with the rest.

"Alright, ready to go inside, Lime?"

The poor auburn haired girl just stood there, mouth wide open in disbelief. After a few seconds, she just shook her head and laughed lightly.

"Yeah, sure, I'm tired anyway!"

The two friends walked in to the the homey little cabin and all sat around a handmade wooden table. When they walked in, Mr. Lao offered a warm smile and kept prepping the tea, if he was surprised at the speed of Gohan, he didn't show it. A few minutes later, the aroma of freshly brewed tea made its way to Gohan's nose, relaxing him. He looked around at the scene. An old, snowy white haired man, sat to his right and a young auburn haired girl, also around 11 years old sat to his left. The tea was served and a comfortable silence took over the room.

Gohan realized they were waiting for his story and took a deep breath, this would take a while. Calming his nerves, he took a drink of tea and set in on his story, from the very beginning.

"Alright guys, for any of this to make sense, I have to start from the very beginning, before I was born. It'll be a long story, so I hope you're all comfortable. Also, I'm trusting you guys to keep it a secret, ok?"—They both nodded and gave reassuring smiles—"Ok, here it goes…"

 **-That same day, Satan City-**

"Daddy, Daddy, Daddy! Wake Up! Mommy said we can go to the park today!" A 10 year old ball of energy with shining sapphire blue eyes and raven colored hair bounced on her father's broad chest. A muffled groan, full of sleep escaped Hercule Satan's mouth.

"Daddy, come on, we're gonna be late! You may be the champ but you're pretty lame if you can't even go to the park!"

At this comment, The afro'd man jumped up and bounced out of bed, landing on his feet and stretching him up to full height with a toothy grin, "Oh, my little Videl of course I'll go, I was uh.. just uh, yeah! I was just making sure you really wanted to go today and you passed! Ahahah! Now go get ready and I'll see you at the table for breakfast."

Videl nodded eagerly and dashed off towards her personal bathroom and began getting ready for the day. Hercule let out a sigh and a tired smile grew on his face as he also went to the shower to get ready. About 20 minutes later, the two joined one other woman at the table, who made breakfast for the three of them and was now working on lunch. She was an extremely attractive raven haired woman with the same glowing sapphire eyes as her daughter. Her hair grew past her shoulders in an effortless flowing fashion that perfectly complimented her well maintained body. Once she noticed the two sit down, she flashed an elegant smile and got them both plates.

"Morning honey, morning sweetie, I hope you both slept well because we've got a big day ahead of us! Eat up and I'll finish lunch and we can get going." Mrs. Satan's voice was rich and smooth, full of love and pride for her family. She wanted to be no other place than right here, happy with the loves of her life.

Both Videl and Hercule smiled and agreed before piling food on their plates, staring hungrily before thanking Mrs. Satan for the food and digging in. A short while later, when the plates were empty, everyone sat back, relaxed and ready for the day.

"Thanks, mommy! The food was great, now let's get ready for the park!" Videl's voice was full of happiness and her world was absolutely perfect. Her father was the strongest man in the world and he was training her, her mother was smart and always nice, and teaching her. Both her parents were so loving and happy that Videl simply couldn't imagine a more perfect life, well other than the fact that she only had two real friends, everyone else just wanted to be friends with her because of her father, but she didn't care. The girl was in bliss every day and didn't need anyone else.

Videl bounded off to gather her things. "She's growing up so fast… I'm so proud of her." Mrs. Satan's voice was full of emotion.

"I know, honey, me too. I mean today's her birthday, but she hasn't said anything about it! What a good girl. We really raised her right." Mr. Satan agreed.

The two shared an embrace for a moment before going to gather their things and heading out to the park. The public understood that the Satan family liked having their privacy and liked to live a mostly normal life, so the press left them alone. The people eventually did too, and aside from the occasional fan asking for an autograph and the stares from everyone, life was pretty normal. Aside from the massive mansion and incredible amount of cash, that is.

Once the happy little family all loaded into the hover car, Hercule took off to the nearest park. The day was absolutely perfect out, the sun was bright and warmed the skin, but not too hot, there wasn't a cloud in the sky, and there was a pleasant light breeze to top it all off. The three parked, gathered their things and left to go claim a spot in the shade. Once everything was set up, the three started to play catch with a baseball, enjoying the day and ignoring the stares of the starstruck others. After an hour of catch, Videl ran to the swings and beckoned for her mother to do the same, telling her father to push them. Swinging was one of Videl's favorite things to do, because she loved to get to the highest point and jump off, which made it feel like she was flying, even if only for a second. After she grew tired of swinging, she announced that it was lunch time.

Her parents laughed and the three raced over to their spot on the grass. A secret signal between the two parents let Hercule know that it was time to distract Videl while Mrs. Satan brought out the birthday cake.

"Uh, hey Videl, I think I dropped my mitt over there, I'll race ya to it and the first one there gets first dibs on food!" Mr. Satan was pleased with himself for thinking on the fly and jumped up.

Giggling, Videl also jumped up and began to sprint after it calling back, "You're on!". She had always been extremely competitive.

After a quick race, the two reached the mitt at the same time, so Hercule proposed a rock paper scissors match to see who would win the game. Both got ready and played. Videl ended up winning and Hercule made some theatrics about losing to his daughter and how he was proud of her, before lifting both her and the mitt up and walking back over to Mrs. Satan.

She had gotten out the cake and lit the candles. The cake was a simple white frosting with little light blue swirls around it, with darker blue lettering that read _Happy 11th Birthday Videl!_ When she saw the cake, she squealed out with delight and hugged her parents, thanking them. After the birthday song, she blew out the candles and asked for cake before lunch. Because it was her special day, Mrs. Satan agreed and cut the cake, getting them each a piece. She was about to start pouring the drinks when she realized that there weren't any and scolded Hercule for forgetting them.

"I-I'm sorry, honey! I'll go to the car and grab some, I'll be right back!" Mr. Satan hurried off towards the car to grab the drinks.

A few seconds after he left, an off looking man walked up to the two left at the camping spot and smirked. "You two are the champ's daughter and wife, right?"

The two were slightly exasperated by yet another fan interrupting their family time, but smiled and answered anyway, "Yeah, he should be back soon, so if you want an autograph, wait just a little, ok?"

The man's smirk turned into a devilish smile and he brought his hand slowly towards his back. "Perfect, that idiot will get what he deserves for humiliating my father! Losing to him drove Dad into a depression that he never was able to get out of. But now, I'm going to get revenge!" The man yelled out his oath to the world and his hand clasped on the concealed metal handle of a pistol. He drew it out and pointed the barrel at Mrs. Satan, a murderous glint in his eye and insane smile on his face.

Mrs. Satan stood, eyes wide and full of terror, frozen in fear. Her voice left her as time slowed to a crawl. Silence reigned for a moment, only to be broken by Videl's panicked scream.

"AAAHHHH, NOO, MOMMY, DADDY, HEEEELLP"

The screech reached Hercule's ears and a cold weight dropped in his stomach. He turned his head and sprinted as fast as he possibly could towards the scream. His little girl needed him and he had to get there. Furrowing his brow, he let out a yell, "VIDEL, I'M ALMOST THERE!". He forced himself to move faster as he saw the scene in front of him. A man was holding his wife at gunpoint and his daughter was right next to her. His eyes narrowed in rage as he almost reached the man.

Videl looked over at her father rushing towards them and began to feel like everything would be ok, he was the strongest man in the world after all. He was so close now, he would beat up the bad guy and everything would be okay. Then, the world stopped.

When he heard the champ come running, the man's smile grew even wider, giving him a maniacal appearance. He squinted one eye and twitched his finger once, twice, and a third time. Three deafeningly loud sounds rang out over the park, silencing it again. The man looked down the barrel at his smoking gun to see the wife of Mr. Satan standing, in shock. She had two crimson red holes in her chest gushing out blood and one through her neck, spouting out more crimson.

Her face was an unnatural white and her eyes grew wider in terror as she realized what had happened. She collapsed on both knees, smashing the birthday cake, and fell onto her once beautiful face, lifeless with what looked like thick wine pouring from her upper body, staining the grass around.

Ice pumped through Videl's veins as she realized what happened, a boulder appeared in her stomach and she shrank to her knees. Her world spun, it was cold, and all she could hear was a buzzing in her ears. She did the only thing she could to relieve the pressure. She screamed. She let out a blood curdling screech, full of sorrow, pain, and loss. She yelled at the man and at the unfairness of what had just happened, she screamed and screamed. Tears now streaked down her face as she stated to hit the ground, wailing at the loss of her mother.

Hercule's reaction was slightly different. He too was stood there in shock, watching his wife get shot. However, he was brought back to his senses by the cold laughter of the murderer. Hercule wanted blood. He wanted that man dead, so he ran over to the man and grabbed his gun hand, knocking it out of his hand and then punched him in the chest so hard that he felt a few satisfying crunches of rib bone. He let go of the man as he doubled over in pain. Looking down, Hercule placed one hand below the murderer's chin and one on top of his head, twisting as hard as he could. With a series of loud pops, the killer's head rotated around over 180 degrees and he dropped to the ground, dead instantly. Hercule kicked the corpse away from his late wife and whispered in a hollow voice, "Die, you worthless son of a bitch".

He took a deep breath as the gravity of the situation hit him full in the chest. He heard the screams of his daughter and ran over to her, cradling her in his arms, holding her tight, giving her a safe place.

"GET AN AMBULANCE, DAMNIT!" Hercule bellowed frantically to everyone within earshot.

He turned his attention back to Videl, who buried her head in his chest and let out another agonizing scream, along with fresh waves of tears that wracked her entire body, calling for her mommy to come back.

 **A/N**

 **Holy plot bomb, what the hell happened. Did anyone ever expect that (honest question, I really wanna know how good of a 'plot twist' it was)? I've always wondered what happened to Videl's mother, and here's one..er.. morbid answer? It goes with the story, so I hope none of you hate it too much. :)**

 **Well, until next time!**


	4. Friendship and Loss

**A/N Ok ok, I know this is a little late, I'm sorry, but it's literally twice as long as the other chapters, so it should make up for it, no? :) Well, truth is, once I started writing this, I really couldn't stop. I couldn't find a decent place to end off the chapter, so I took an extra couple days and just made it longer. Be warned, though, a LOT happens here, so be prepared!**

 **Replies!**

 **Drama Llama-Sama- Glad you're still liking the story! :) You pretty much hit the nail on the head with some of the plans I have. I feel like the whole mother thing could have been expected, since we never do see her mother in the show, but I wanted to try and give a reason for that and put a spin on the story to make it my own ^.^ Also, I may make a one-shot or something of Gohan spending the day in the village with Lime and Mr. Lao, or I might use flashbacks or something. We'll see how it all fits in. Hope you enjoy the next chapter! I really do love hearing your feedback, it gives me more to think about as well!**

 **Reign Of Sorrow- That's what I was going for with her mother! :) I do plan on making Hercule a lot less of an ass, because I HATE him in the show. Also, not going into specifics, but how could neither of them be drastically impacted by what just happened? It'll be great for char dev and provide motivation. :)**

 **Ok read on, friends! R &R, because it really does help me, quite a bit.**

Gohan let out a tired sigh as the last few words of the story escaped his lips. The firelight played in his eyes and the sun was beginning to drop lower and lower into the sky. He had taken much longer than expected to explain his story, but with every explanation he gave, one of the duo would have yet another question about some aspect he had overlooked. The tea had long since been drank and a three plates of rice had been ate during the telling. Gohan's nerves were strung so tight that he was visibly tense at the reaction he would receive. He trusted the two enough to let them in on his personal life, but he was scared at how they'd react. Gohan hated the idea of losing the first friend that he'd made his own age.

 _Damnit, I hope I didn't scare them off or anything… I mean if I was them, I wouldn't believe a word. Hell, I'd probably report myself to a mental ward._

He looked up at Mr. Lao and then turned his head to Lime, staring with pained eyes and a worried expression. The old man seemed deep in thought, rubbing his chin and staring off into the distance, nodding to himself and making little grunts as if he was hashing out some problem mentally. Lime just gawked in awe, her eyes glowing with admiration and a tint of sorrow. She looked at Gohan as almost an adult, despite his actual age. He was so experienced and mature. She couldn't imagine anyone her own age going through all of that, it seemed unreal and she thought to herself,

 _I mean he's the same age as me… well kinda, but that's just confusing, but he did all that. He broke his neck and… lived? He fought some guy that ruled the universe? This one kid was a huge part of saving two entire_ planets _from extinction. How could a kid my age do that… It's insane and almost.. a little.. sad—_ she gave Gohan a small smile— _how could anyone go through that? If I was him, I don't know how I'd handle the stress, but then again, he could be holding it all in. Oh gosh, I don't know what to do! How do I help? What_ can _I do?_

Lime shook her head and blinked her eyes a couple times and to her surprise a single tear glistened down her cheek. She quickly wiped it away and started to say something, but thought better of it. Instead, she got up and pulled Gohan into a warm, loving embrace and did the only thing she thought she could do. She said, "Gohan, if you ever need anything at all, I mean ANYTHING, you just let us know, ok? Me and the old man will try our best to help ya out, right?" She glared up at the old man who woke with a start out of the daze he had been in a moment earlier and smiled, "Of course, of course. I know we can't do much, but listen son, I know all of that stress and emotion isn't good for you. If you ever need a place to vent that frustration then just come over here. We'll listen and help as much as we can."

Gohan let out another breath and visibly relaxed, his facial features softened and he let out another smile as a weight was lifted from his chest, "Thank you both so much, that means more to me than you can imagine."

Then the room was silent. It stayed that way for almost a minute before Lime took the initiative. She quickly got up, and with a mischievous grin grabbed the nearest plate and hurled it at Gohan, then a cup, then another plate. The three items whizzed through the air and Lime shrieked in laughter. Mr. Lao stood shocked and Gohan's eyes widened and he allowed himself a small smile.

 _She's testing me. She's curious about what I can do and she was breaking the awkward silence the best way she knew how. Geez, she's interesting. I don't think I could've made a better first friend._

With inhuman speed, he reached one hand out and snatched the plate out of the air and actually moved forward towards the next plate to grab it with the other hand. Then, he snapped his head around and quickly tracked the cups movement, noting the rotation of it. With a small smirk, he launched his tail out and into the cylinder of the cup, effectively capturing all three dishes in an instant. The other two just gaped for a second and then started clapping and laughing. They were laughing with such sincerity and enthusiasm that it became infectious and Gohan even joined in for a bit and the three of them laughed all the awkwardness and uneasiness out of the room, simply enjoying each other's company.

The young boy looked out the window and sighed once more, "well guys, looks like its time for me to leave, mom will be worried if I'm not back soon! But seriously, thank you both so much for this."

"Don't worry Gohan, I had fun and I was really glad to see you again. Be sure to come back soon and we can play some more!" Lime gave Gohan an energetic smile and hugged him goodbye.

"I agree, it'll be good to have you around, kid. Come back more often and there'll be more work for you. I'll throw in some spices and food for your family too, so we're even, how's that sound?"

"Great, sir! Thank you so much!"

Gohan shook the man's hand and bowed before making his way to the door.

"See you guys soon! Thanks for everything!" Gohan turned, smiled, and waved in a way all to reminiscent of his father's. He opened the door and lifted off from the ground, greeted by a sweet smelling wind and an orange hued sky lined with wispy clouds that seemed to radiate happiness. Gohan felt something other than grief and torment for the first time in months and loved every second of it.

 _Yeah, I'll be back soon guys. Thank you._

And so the months passed. Gohan was still tirelessly training every day. Tearing his body down over and over, only to build it back up stronger than before. He had now mastered the second form of Super Saiyan and was now attempting to practice it in the same was as his father practiced the first form. It wasn't before long that he noticed the gap between himself and the prince begin to grow, bit by bit. No matter how hard Vegeta trained, he simply couldn't match the pace of the demi. Gohan could tell it bothered him to no end, but Vegeta hung in there, as a mentor to the younger warrior. He was indeed a changed man. The blind selfish arrogance was replaced by a slightly kinder, more gentle attitude, although he only showed this side to Gohan, Bulma, and Trunks and he was still as strict in training as always. However, Gohan decided that the change was a huge improvement and was proud of the man. The studies were also going along at the same incredible rate. Gohan was already basically through high school and began to specialize more in a few specific fields. He already had an idea for what he wanted to do and actively pursued more and more challenging mathematics and sciences, thirsting for more knowledge. He loved learning about the topics he was passionate about and ChiChi realized that she was quickly running out of material to actually teach him. Regardless, they continued on. Gohan also made frequent visits to Lime's village and began to befriend the inhabitants of it. He always helped Mr. Lao with chores and even taught him more about ki control, much to the man's pleasure. He could now form a sphere of pure ki in his hands and was working on more, which made Gohan happy to know he could help contribute to the man's life. It gave him some purpose. However, the relationship that affected him the most was with his closest friend, Lime. The two had quickly became closer than most siblings and had a bond that replicated blood. They were so close that Lime had even taken to calling Gohan her brother, which pleased the boy. He loved having someone close enough to be family and that made it easier for him. On good days, they would laugh and play and he'd even let her ride Nimbus and on bad days, they'd cry and rant about everything, until their moods were better again. The two were inseparable. Gohan loved the girl like he loved his mother and unborn brother. He swore to protect her from everything and shelter her from anything that could negatively impact her. These things gave him a purpose to train. A purpose to study. A purpose to live. A purpose to exist. They were some of the happiest times of Gohan's life since the Cell Games.

He was constantly busy, so he didn't get much time alone to think, which was good for the kid. He could now even sleep at home comfortably without worrying about endangering anyone around him. Though, because he was so busy, time seemed to speed up and soon enough, he was taking ChiChi to Capsule Corp to give birth to his soon to be little brother, Goten. She was overjoyed by the thought of getting to meet her newborn and it showed. Gohan couldn't remember the last time he'd seen his mother so happy and it was infectious. He even felt himself grow excited over the thought of seeing his new brother.

After getting ChiChi all settled into the best medical facilities money could buy, it was time to play the waiting game. Bulma was with ChiChi around the clock, nearly as excited as the mother to be. Tests were being ran and everything was prepared perfectly, all that they could do was wait. To Gohan, it was nerve wracking. He would sit with his mother and study, just to put her mind at ease, but in reality he couldn't focus on reading more than five words without worrying over some minor detail. He was worried for his mother and wanted everything to be perfect. Vegeta noticed this and forced the kid to train in the gravity chamber, taking his mind off of the issue at hand and tiring him out, so that sleep would come easier. Even Piccolo decided to show up and help train, checking in on the situation. It seemed to drag on forever. Hours were days and days were weeks, but eventually, it happened.

During a routine sparring match, both Gohan and Vegeta pulled up short before another series of blows were exchanged. The looked at each other with raised eyebrows, noticing ChiChi's sudden spike and drop in ki. The younger of the two looked worried and began to sprint before the exit before Vegeta appeared in front of him.

"Wait. Before you go, you should know this; they will not let you in the medical room until after Goten is born. They have specially trained staff for this led by my wife, so don't worry, your mother's in good hands. Now GO." Vegeta yelled out this last word, emphasizing his authority, but was still blushing slightly at what he had just said to the kid he had once wanted to kill.

 _Damnit, looks like I'm getting soft. Hang in there kid, he'll be here before much longer.. Hmm now for some training. What should it be now? How about… ah yes that'll be perfect._

Gohan just nodded and sprinted out the door, little more than a blur. Vegeta nodded and closed the door, turning back to the gravity controls, resuming his training. Once Gohan arrived at the medical room, he instinctively tried to walk in, only to be stopped by Bulma herself.

"Gohan, you wait out here until we're done! Your mother will be fine, now I've gotta go. Sit tight kiddo." Bulma planted a quick peck on his forehead and the last thing he heard before the thick metal door shut was Bulma talking to his mother in calming tones saying, "You're doing great Chi, just relax. Everything's normal and you'll be through this in no time."

Finally after what seemed like an eternity of waiting, watching his mother's ki signal rise and fall, the metal door slid open with a quiet whoosh. The staff all filed out and gave Gohan small smiles before they went to go clean up and rest. Once they left, Bulma appeared in the doorway, eyes red with tears and a huge smile on her face. She beckoned Gohan to come inside and quickly disappeared back in. Gohan stood there, ready to go see his new brother, nerves balling up in his stomach. He was excited, scared, nervous to meet Goten, but there was still the nagging feeling of guilt and sorrow that Goku wasn't beside his mother, meeting his son for the first time. Because of his mistake, Goten was going to be fatherless and ChiChi would have to raise him alone. But then he thought to himself that that was what his father meant when he asked Gohan to be strong, he was worried for Goten's upbringing. The boy mentally kicked himself again and again about how weak and selfish he was being and vowed to himself that he would help raise the newborn and protect him with his life and to work to give him a great life, despite not having a father. Gohan embraced the sorrow and guilt as reminders of his failure and as a sort of spur to make him work harder and harder.

Finally ready to go in, Gohan put a smile on his face and steeled his nerves. He walked in to see the new mother, tired and half asleep on the hospital bed, holding a tailed boy. The newborn had his father's exact hair style, messy and sticking up all over the place and the same facial features as well. It was like a carbon copy of Goku as a kid, right down to the peaceful smile. It was almost nauseating to Gohan, seeing such a strong reminder of the past, but he still stayed strong for the new life that was in his mother's arms.

Gohan just stared at the boy, not knowing what to do until his mother smiled and motioned for him to come closer. "Gohan, meet your new brother, Goten." She handed the boy over to her other son and watched. The older boy's mind blanked out, overran with emotion, so he dumbly looked at the little bundle and reached out for it. He awkwardly held the child, not knowing what to do. Then, little Goten used strength far beyond what a newborn should have and instinctively clutched to Gohans shirt, pulling himself in closer, forcing the older brother to embrace him fully. The little tail snaked itself around his arm and Goten looked up, smiling an innocent, blissful smile. Whatever doubts Gohan had earlier were shattered by the sheer love he felt towards his little brother, it stung his eyes and a tear rolled down his cheek. "Hi there Goten…" His voice caught in his throat and the family all looked there and shed a few tears of joy, enjoying the silence and company of loved ones. Even Vegeta peaked in to check on everyone, infected by the good vibes. He allowed himself a smile and went to shower off, leaving the group to rejoice in celebration of the new life that had graced the earth.

Soon enough, a couple of weeks had passed and everything was going along normally. Training and schooling was starting to work its way back into Gohan's life and he was constantly checking in on his brother. The baby was remarkably strong for his age, he had even bent the metal bars of his crib once when he was afraid to be alone and hungry. It was amazing and Gohan was already proud of the strength of his younger brother.

About a week after Goten was born, Vegeta, Bulma, ChiChi, Piccolo, and Gohan all got together to discuss what to do about the tails of both Trunks and Goten. After a short debate, it was decided to get rid of them, since they could grow back later if needed and everyone wanted the boys to have a choice of a normal life or that of a fighter. Even Vegeta agreed to this, saying that they didn't need to force the two children into a life they didn't want to live. So it was decided to remove they boys tails and then Gohan's tail was brought up. He firmly rejected removing his tail, saying it served as a reminder to train hard and to stay strong for everyone, but hiding the information of the vast well of power he found after it had grown back.

It was also decided that Gohan would learn science and math from Bulma at Capsule Corp, since ChiChi could teach him no longer. Everyone felt that this was the best decision since the Briefs had a limitless supply of money and more labs than anyone in the world, which made it a perfect place for Gohan to study. Plus, he was close to Vegeta and the gravity chamber, so he could train as much as he wanted. The only worry Gohan had was over Goten and ChiChi who agreed to live at Capsule Corp for the year, visiting their home on the weekends. This seemed to be the best solution so that both families could have some sense of belonging. It had worked out for everyone and put the group in better spirits all around. The only thing that worried them was that no one had heard from Goku since then, but they collectively decided not to talk about it and focus more on the positives.

But just like that, a year passed. Gohan had still visited Lime and the village and he even brought her over to meet Goten. She was quickly becoming an integral part of the family, taking care of the youngest member and getting along with everyone. She was just like the rest of them and fit in as a younger sister to Gohan. Over the course of the year, Vegeta neared the second stage of transformation and they both sensed it and it made Gohan happy to see the familiar fire light in the elder saiyan's eyes as they redoubled their training efforts. Soon enough, the year had passed, but the family decided to remain together. The living arrangements worked all too well and everyone was happy. The two younger boys were getting along all too well and everyone was growing closer. They decided that on Gohan's 15th (physical) birthday that they would move out and back to the mountains. It was around that time that Goten would be a little older than three and able to take care of himself for the most part, due to his half saiyan bloodline. It was also decided then that Gohan would attend school on his 17th physical birthday. According to his actual birth date, Gohan would be 16 and be put in his junior year of high school. ChiChi wanted Gohan to make more friends his age and since Lime would need to go to high school for her senior year, everything would work out. Everything was planned out and things seemed to be looking up.

So, the time passed. Gohan's training was progressing at an extremely rapid pace, ripping open the gap between him and Vegeta wider and wider with each passing day. Gohan had now completely perfected the SS2 form, able to spend weeks in it with no real loss of strength. There seemed to be no more for Gohan to achieve and that annoyed him, but nevertheless, he threw himself at every new training regiment with an almost maniacal intensity, mastering entire forms of martial arts and gaining so much ki control that he could practically perform surgery with it. Yet still, he hungered for more power, which was odd, since before the Cell Games, Gohan was happy with whatever power he had. The teen had changed and everyone noticed. The tragic events of his childhood had matured him beyond his years and gave him a serious air. While at his core, Gohan was still the same old peace loving, kindhearted person that he'd always been, he seemed to have grown into an adult in a matter of a few years. It could have been because of what he'd experienced, or how he'd nurtured the negative emotions of guilt and self loathing, or his almost desperate desire to protect his family and loved ones, or even, as Vegeta pointed out, that regrowing his tail could have brought on some more saiyan-like characteristics, which would explain his thirst for strengthening his body. Whatever the case may be, the now 15 year old was monstrously strong. He grew to a little under six feet tall and had a lean build, since he grew up before he grew out.

Vegeta was still training daily as well and actually made the leap to SS2. He loved the new power and pushed his limits more and more every day, finally having a taste of success. The eldest saiyan was now working on completely mastering the form and was making good headway into it. Both the boys took notice to the training and sparring of their elders and idolized it, wanting to become cool like them, so they play fought and Vegeta even started them in on basic fighting techniques, much to the displeasure of the mothers.

Gohan's studies were also progressing at breakneck pace. He had now completed what was better than a college education and began working with Bulma more and more on different capsules. However, Gohan still focused mainly on the science behind ki and what it was. There was no evidence behind it and the nature of it interested Gohan to no end, so he would learn as much as he could to pursue this science and come up with an eventual answer. If a normal human like Krillin or Tien could amass enough power on command to destroy the earth, then there had to be something to it, right? Whatever the case, the demi pursued this passion nearly as single-mindedly as his training.

Gohan also focused on having a good relationship with his younger brother. The little kid idolized his brother and looked up to him as if he was a father, always asking for his advice and his approval on every detail, no matter how trivial and Gohan was always there. The elder couldn't help but love the child more and more every day, finding his innocence refreshing and his curiosity with the world hilarious. It seemed that the child had no faults… except for his appearance. Looking at him was like looking at all of Gohan's faults and failures. It reminded him of his father and Gohan both loved and hated that. It drove him to be the best man he could, but also was a source of pain.

He also became much closer to Vegeta, confiding in him more and more about everything, developing an almost father-son relation ship. The elder softened up a bit and actually gave good advice when asked. The same sort of kinship stayed strong with Gohan and Piccolo, talking about many of the same things and receiving much of the same advice. Each man he looked up to began to see him as a sort of son-in-law and it drove the three of them closer day by day. The mother-son relationship that he had with ChiChi also stayed strong. She couldn't harm him in any way, yet he still listened to her and respected every word she said. They also became closer over the new addition of the family, helping each other care for Goten and being there for each other during the tough times. Yet the one who seemed to grow closer to ChiChi was none other than Lime. The now 14 year old was always over at Capsule Corp, helping with Goten and Trunks, still fitting right in with the family. ChiChi now basically regarded her as a daughter-in-law. The same went for Gohan. She was the one person he could feel fully vulnerable around and it was reassuring knowing that she would always be there. He had even called her his sister on a few occasions, and the title fit. The two were now brother and sister in every way but blood and it did wonders for Gohan's fragile psyche.

Everything was going great and before he knew it, his 15th birthday came and went. It was now time to move out and back into the home he was raised in.

"Gohan! You have everything?" the motherly voice of ChiChi came from down the hall, followed by the lighthearted giggling of Goten. The oldest Son clicked down the suitcase on his clothes and grabbed both it and the other suitcase with his other possessions and stepped out into the hallway. "Yeah, everything's here! You have all your stuff and Goten's ready?"

"Mhm, every things here! Go check on Lime and see if she's ready."

Just then, an auburn haired girl in her teens came walking down the hallway with a suitcase in hand. "Don't worry, ChiChi I've got everything here. Looks like we're all ready?" The three gave their nods and Goten beamed around at everyone before jumping down from his mother's arms and ran off, calling for Trunks. The three laughed and started to head down the hallway where Goten ran down, towards the entrance.

"Bulma should have the jet ready for us out front, you kids can either fly or ride with us."

The two teens looked at each other and Lime smiled, her adventurous side making it obvious which of the two modes of transportation she preferred. Gohan took note of this and laughed, "Guess we'll be flying beside you, mom."

The woman let out a small laugh, "Alright then, go say your goodbyes to Vegeta and meet us in the jet, just don't take too long, ok?"

"Got it mom!" Gohan took the luggage from the two and jogged down towards the entrance and then onto the jet before hurrying into the gravity chamber room where he could feel the rise and fall of Vegeta's ki, indicating he was training. Arriving at the chamber, he knocked twice on the door and walked in. The gravity cut and Vegeta quickly turned it back on, resuming the workout he was doing. Gohan stood there for a second, greeted by gravity that was 500 times greater than the earth's. The color in the room took a slightly red skew as the light itself began to work differently under this intense gravity. "Yeah?" Vegeta just finished the set and jumped up, making his way over to Gohan.

"Well… we're leaving today and mom told me to come say goodbye."

The Prince just laughed, "Why? You'll be back here nearly as much to keep up on your training and schooling. It'll be no different than before."

"That's true, but still.." Gohan felt slightly nervous to be living alone with his mother and brother, wondering if he'd be able to take care of them.

"Look, Gohan, if you're worried, don't be. Barring our little group, you're brother is already one of the most powerful beings on this planet. I know you've sensed how much power he has inside of him already. Your mother is also perfectly capable of taking care of herself. Don't worry about things that shouldn't be worried about, ok? Now go. I'll see you for training tomorrow." Then Vegeta did something odd, that Gohan could have never predicted. The saiyan walked up and placed one hand on his head and ruffled his hair. "You're doing a damn good job right now, your father would be proud." And with that, he shoved the younger demi towards the exit before launching into some more training.

Stunned by this, Gohan could only smile and wave. For some reason, hearing this made his chest burn with pride, like he was finally doing something right for a change. Vegeta wasn't the type of person to freely give out praise, you'd have to earn it and that's what Gohan did. He bounded off up the stairs and to the jet, greeted by his family and Bulma, who at this point, might as well been a step mother.

"Alright guys, we all good to go?" Gohan looked around at everyone as they nodded.

"See you guys at home!" ChiChi sent off the two with quick hugs and packed the sleeping Goten onto the jetcopter, closing the door behind her. They quickly began their ascent and flew off towards 439 Mountain Area. Gohan looked down at Lime and smiled. "Ready?"—she quickly shook her head, showing her enthusiasm—"Great. NIIIIIIMBUUUUUS!"

Soon enough, the odd little put-put sound of a small yellow cloud came zooming towards them and Lime's eyes lit up. The second it stopped, she jumped on and called back to Gohan, "Race ya there!" Then she zoomed off towards the jetcopter. The tailed teen smiled, gathered his ki and took off after her. Soon enough they caught up to the machine and slowed down to keep pace with it. Everything was progressing along and they'd be home within an hour or so.

The scenery was beautiful. Rolling hills of green were dotted with different trees and little streams. The sun was high in the sky and everything took on a faint glow, but it wasn't too hot due to a slight breeze that swayed the taller grass ever so slightly. Off in the distance was a mountain range, covered in green. Gohan was excited to return to his life of simplicity, he missed the connection with nature he felt out here and there was just something about the little place that he loved. He even started to daydream about the simple days to come, waking up with the smell of breakfast wafting through the house, walking outside to the lakes and mountains to train, taking Goten to meet all the friendly creatures around the mountain, even the sunset looked better out here. Despite leaving the great home he lived in the past few years, Gohan was excited to be back to the place he grew up.

His mind was swirling with these happy thoughts until a single shock tore through them. He suddenly sensed a ki that was unimaginably massive, coming from a few hundred feet in front of the group. Gohan's eyes widened and he felt a few butterflies rile up in his stomach and he saw a enormous man over seven feet tall and more than two Gohans wide.

 _Oh great, whose that… wait.. no.. Is that.. BROLY? I thought Dad killed him back then? How's than insane bastard alive?! Goddamn it, I need to protect everyone here. Alright Gohan, you can't screw this up. You have to handle this like Dad would. Ok, here it goes._

"Everyone! Stop. NOW. There's trouble."

Even through the metal walls of the jetcopter, the others heard. Lime immediately did as she was told and descended to the ground, caught off guard from the tone in Gohan's voice. It was stern and commanding, a voice that should have came from a man, not a 15 year old, but there was an air of panic to it that gave away the desperation that Gohan was trying to hide. She felt truly scared for the first time in a long time, but she couldn't quite figure out why. A few seconds later and the jet landed next to her. Everyone filed out and looked towards Gohan with worried expressions.

"Broly's back."

The two mother's color drained from their faces and the space took an extremely serious air. Lime couldn't figure out what a Broly was, but assumed it was a serious threat. Goten too was affected by the mood and quieted down, burying his face in his mother's shirt.

"Ok, sweetie what do you want us t—" ChiChi was cut off by the sudden transformation of her son. His hair glowed gold, along with his tail and a spiked aura shot around him. He disappeared from the spot he once stood at, to confront a dirty green ball of ki. Gohan summoned up his own ki and surrounded his fist. The golden teen planted one fist into the orb and was met by an immediate resistance, he gritted his teeth and shoved back, launching the projectile off into a distant mountain, where it exploded, taking out half of it. He looked back at the others.

"Try and find cover and hide yourselves! Vegeta and Piccolo should be here soon, so stay safe!"

Gohan turned his attention back to the beast before him, only to find himself face to face with the monstrosity. A fist was already traveling towards Gohan at a speed too quick for him to dodge, so all Gohan could do was raise his ki to try and lessen the damage it would do. The fist connected with his face, sending spit flying, mixed with blood and Gohan felt his jaw thrown sideways as he was launched into a mountain, going right through it and coming to rest on the other side.

"GOHAAAN!" Lime screamed out, worried for her brother, but giving away their hiding spot. It was then that she saw the monster full on. He was a man towering over seven feet tall, with muscle upon muscle, seemingly over four feet wide in the chest. An oppressive aura was around him, tinted green. His hair was long and hung around the waist, also a green shade of gold, but what was probably the most terrifying part of the man's appearance was his face. It was twisted into an evil grin, reveling every second that he got to cause pain to someone else. His eyes were dull, with no pupils. Eyes of a madman, who knew no mercy. She stood glued on the spot in fear and the giant closed the gap.

"Kakarot.. KakAROT… KAKAROOOTT!" He eyed the group and started to make a beeline for young Goten. No more than 10 feet in front of the child, another voice came forward.

"BASTAAARD!" Gohan's face was contorted into a feral snarl, wanting to kill this beast and protect his family. The boy's muscle mass increased drastically and he was absolutely chiseled, unnaturally sculpted and his golden hair stood on end, shining brilliantly in the light. Lightning crackled freely around him and he let out a battle cry, leading with a foot aimed at the giants chin. Broly looked over in confusion only to be met with the foot planted firmly in his jaw, snapping his neck to the side and sent him head first into the side of a hill. They caught a glimpse of Gohan's face when he paused before pressing on the attack. It scared the group, seeing how much different he looked from the usual Gohan. This one was mature, brutal, a face that had seen all to much, and one that wanted to cause pain. They stood in shock and watched what happened next.

Broly got up and out of the crater and grinned again, laughing. "KAKAROT!" He then powered up even more, surpassing anything Gohan had seen before. So Gohan did the same. He pushed himself towards the familiar wall and began to beat at it, drawing more and more power. He still needed more than this to fight the monster, but for the life of him, he couldn't draw out any more. He began to worry and redouble his efforts with a frantic panic, before they were cut off. Broly launched himself at Gohan, swinging wildly.

 _Well that's good at least. He doesn't seem to be using any form, so I'll have to try and beat him in skill and hope to Kami that he doesn't land a hit, because that hurt like hell._

Dodging another blow, Gohan drove a fist into the older man's gut and sought to raise his fist up, knocking the air out of him. He was surprised to find so much resistance from a spot where there should be little muscle. It was like an invisible barrier that Gohan couldn't break. He looked up to see that maniacal grin and tried to jump back and out of range, but Broly was to quick. He grabbed the boys arm, delivering another blow to his jaw, nearly knocking out the demi. Broly then threw him towards the mountain with so much ferocity that Gohan couldn't stop himself from diving through hundreds of feet of rock.

 _DAMNIT. Why is he so STRONG?! I Can't do a damn thing. Maybe if I get a clean hit to the windpipe or if I could target some of the joints. With that much muscle, there has to be a weak spot._

The boy let out another yell and shot his aura out around him yet again and pushed the offensive, wary this time of the sheer durability of the guy. Broly laughed and swung at Gohan whenever he took a second to breathe. Gohan eventually saw an opening and took it, the older man left his leg sticking out slightly, so Gohan dropped a heel right at the joint. He was surprised again that he was met by the same wall. Even at a spot where there should be a weakness, there simply wasn't.

 _Shit.. alright if that doesn't work, the try this!_

Gohan spun around and using the speed from the spin, set his shin on course with the front of Broly's neck. The tailed warrior let out all the stops in his power and sought to crush his windpipe with one blow. Again. No effect. Wide eyed and terrified, Gohan tried to get away, but again he was stopped. Broly grabbed his leg and let out a devilish laugh. He swung Gohan side to side, slamming him into the earth over and over, creating several deep indents on the ground.

Gohan could feel himself slipping. After a few more hits, he couldn't find the energy to stay in the second form, forcing him to drop back into the first. Broly stopped and laid the kid on the ground, barely able to move. He waited for a second and then delivered a fist onto the battered teen's face, sending debris flying around him. Broly laughed once more and kicked him hard in the ribs, cracking a few of them, sending Gohan flying. Then using an incredible amount of speed, went and caught the nearly unconscious boy by the head and flew into a mountainside, crushing his skull into the rock.

The giant palm grabbing his face was the last thing Gohan could remember before being slammed into the rock side and knocked completely unconscious, returning to his original form, imprinted high up in the side of the mountain.

A collective "GOHAN NO!" echoed throughout the canyon, met by an evil laugh, hellbent on murder. He started to fly towards the group again and once more was met by another battle cry. An extremely angry Vegeta came and flew towards the behemoth, lightning crackling around him. A knee caught Broly directly in the temple and the shorter man sought to drive it through and send him flying into the mountainside. He only succeeded to move Broly's head a couple of inches before stopping completely. "Bullshit! You're not going to hurt my family Broly, I'll put you down like the rabid dog you are!"

A short skirmish followed, ending with Vegeta getting the same treatment Gohan received, implanted into a mountainside. Piccolo arrived shortly after and for the third time, Broly was the victor. Now that the three were out of the way, he went back to the other group, seeking to murder and conquer.

Gohan started to come to just in time to see Broly slowly make his way over to his family.

 _No… Just no… I haven't worked this hard just to see them die. NO._

He dropped down to the earth, sending up a dust cloud on impact and slowly got up, stumbling towards the beast.

 _They need to get away. I need to distract him._

He tried to send a blast out, but could barely find the energy to stand, so he just stumbled towards the invulnerable evil before him. ChiChi stood defensively in front of the group, telling them to run. Yet not a single one moved, they were all glued to the spot, fear weighing down their feet. He laughed again and advanced towards the group. Stopping in front of ChiChi, he raised a hand and looking right into her wide, panic stricken eyes, launched her away, knocking her unconscious instantly.

"Mom.. No" Gohan croaked out, pushing himself to close the gap between them faster. Then, Broly stopped. "K…KAKAROT!" He let out bark of laughter and a ki sphere grew in his hand. Reacting faster than anyone else, using protective instinct Lime shouted, "GET OUT OF THE WAY!" She pushed Bulma to the side and grabbed Goten, protecting him from the death coming their way. Then, the sphere launched from the villain's hand.

Time moved in slow motion. Gohan's eyes widened. "NOOO!" He yelled out, desperate for someone to come, someone to be there hero, he needed his father, who never seemed to lose a battle. In an instant, the sphere covered the distance between the two, reaching Lime's skin. She let out a mangled, pained scream, clutching on to Goten, trying to protect him from harm. The blast enveloped them completely wiping out Lime's existence, but the boy remained mostly unharmed underneath. The nauseating scent of burnt flesh filled the air and a second later, a charred finger rolled to Gohan's feet, wearing the ring that Lime had on earlier that day.

Gohan went numb. His ears rang and the world looked as if he was seeing it through another's eyes. He stood dumbstruck for a second, then an icy dagger felt like it shot through his heart. The pain resonated deeper and deeper in his chest, becoming unbearable. His heart beat became deafeningly loud, until that was the only sound heard. His heart beat faster and faster, the dull _thud thud_ becoming almost a constant drone of noise. The young saiyan's blood started to boil, bringing forth the strongest emotions inside him.

Pure, demonic fury emanated from the boy's innermost being, overtaking everything but the sorrow and hatred that he kept so close to his core. Now, all the warrior could see was red. Rage clouded everything else, and his entire existence succumbed to it. Without fully realizing it, Gohan was again transformed and he found himself at the familiar barrier once more. He looked at it and threw himself at it, shattering it instantly. The power inside of him simply couldn't stay hidden when he was single-mindedly driven by a thirst for revenge.

What he saw on the other side of it was mind-bending. The amount of power it had hidden was enormous. It was like a kid seeing the ocean for the first time, waves of power crashed about, waiting to be released, seemingly with no end. Even Gohan himself couldn't comprehend the vastness of this power inside of him. Not really caring for the consequences, he dove in. Hellbent on getting the giant back, Gohan took in more and more power. It flowed through his veins, his core, his entire being. It filled everything with so much energy that it physically hurt. This much raw power coursing through one person was nearly overwhelming. Yet, he fought on and using his anger, Gohan forced the power under his control before completely giving himself over to it.

The battle-hardened warrior let out a scream, full of pain, sorrow, and loss, but above all, it was filled with hate and a desire to harm. To kill.

His yells intensified until it was the only thing that could be heard and suddenly, an overwhelming aura exploded from the boy. It split the sky and shook the earth itself. So much raw power was flowing around that different pieces of matter began to break down, it had such a large effect that the core of the planet was also starting to waver. Before letting any more harm come to his surroundings, Gohan focused all of this seemingly limitless power on himself and began to transform, once more.

His muscles bulged, becoming unnaturally large for someone of his size. The muscles put sculptures of the Greek Gods to shame, becoming larger than life. The pain from this was nauseating, but still, Gohan pushed on. Next, his hair started to grow, longer and longer, burning his scalp, as if boiling water was pouring over it. It eventually stopped to below waist length, but to call it hair would have been wrong. Each strand seemed to be made from solid energy, glowing so brilliantly that it almost hurt to look at. His eyebrows burnt next, getting rid of all the hair on them and his skull even slightly contorted to make his brows more prominent. The pain from all this would have sent him into unconsciousness, but he was too enraged to fall victim to it. After a few more seconds, it was over. The pain stopped and Gohan felt like a new creature. However, one look at the boy and it was easy to see that his saiyan side had take over completely. He no longer wanted anything to do with peace, he only wanted to fight. To destroy.

Looking over at the rabid psychopath, Gohan said one word in a voice much too deep for a 15 year old to have, a voice filled with too much torment. Filled with an unquenchable bloodlust that could only be sated with the challenge before him. "Suffer."

Broly scowled for a second and laughed, moving back towards Goten, "Kakarot…" He prepared to grab the boy and reached down. Gohan moved so fast that it might as well have been teleportation and materialized in front of the larger saiyan. With his arm still extended, Broly let out a confused grunt. Gohan smirked and grabbed the arm in front of him and forced the palm up. Quicker than the eye could track, he brought his other palm up and through the joint of the elbow, letting out a stomach churning _crack_. The once invulnerable machine let out a pained howl and stared down at his arm. Blood was spouting out and two jagged white rods of bone could be seen sticking out of the skin. He scowled once more and sent a blast towards Gohan.

The newly born moster smirked wider and absorbed the sphere through one hand before again materializing in front of Broly.

"Suffer." This time, Gohan took two fingers from the giants good hand and jerked, another _crack_ followed and they came free from the hand they were once attached to. Two bloody stumps of flesh replaced what was once the fingers and Broly bellowed at Gohan, who grinned and disintegrated the two chunks of flesh in his hand.

 _For Lime._

Broly looked down at his two arms, and was confused and almost looked a little scared. Nevertheless he powered up once more and prepared to fight. A feral snarl from Gohan announced his arrival and before Broly could move, the younger warrior connected a fist to his jaw, completely dislocating it, launching him into a mountain.

Before he could recover, Gohan flew over and grabbed the broken man by the throat, throwing him down to the earth in disgust. Right as the body landed, Gohan sped down, knee extended and planted it in the center of Broly's chest. A satisfying crunch told the tailed beast that the sternum was now broken. The once legendary saiyan gasped for air and coughed out blood, letting out a strained grunt.

"Suffer."

Gohan was overtop of the defeated combatant and lost in rage began to brutally smash his face. Over and over again, Gohan sent fist after fist crashing down to his face. The dull _thuck thuck_ of flesh striking flesh was all that could be heard. The beaten saiyan let out a weak whimper, only to be silenced by another fist.

"SUFFER. ARGHHH!" Gohan loosed another fist down to the mess of flesh blood and bone, tears streaming down his face. He let out a scream, this time filled with anguish and sat back on his toes. Looking down, he found that Broly was still breathing. One eye was gone, lost beneath a sea of blood and bone, but the other was still relatively intact, enough to see at least. So, Gohan glared down at that one eye, conveying all the hatred and fury he felt. It was enough to unnerve even the most seasoned warrior.

In one final act of revenge, Gohan kept the eye contact and reached for Broly's throat. He grasped the trachea and forced his hand deeper and deeper around it. The skin flexed and tightened, but eventually gave way to the tissue underneath. Not satisfied, Gohan tightened his grip, pushing through all of the tissue and flesh. A dull gurgle escaped from the older warrior's throat and his one eye widened in horror.

"Suffer."

Gohan finally tightened his grip around the entire throat and pulled. A series of sickening snaps and cracks mixed with the slush of flesh. His stained red hand held what the man once used to breathe. Blood spouted up, all over Gohan, the warm liquid smattering his clothes and face. He threw the organ down and jumped up, letting out a ferocious battle cry, like a lion who had just won is kill and beat his chest. He looked down and spat on the face of the dead man before taking the heel of his shoe and smashing it down on his nose, flattening his head with a sick crunch, with parts of it exploding like a watermelon. Taking a few steps away, he looked back in disgust.

"HAAAA"

A blinding yellow ki blast shot from Gohan's hands, engulfing the corpse, completely annihilating it, only leaving blackened earth.

Then, Gohan's strength flew from him as quickly as it had came and he returned to his senses. Tears welled up in he eyes and blackness swirled around his vision. "Lime…" Gohan whispered out before fully losing consciousness, falling face first into the grass.

A stunned Piccolo and Vegeta came to the boy. They had witnessed the entire scene, but neither of them dared step in for fear of being a target. Plus, it gave them some grim sense of satisfaction to see Broly beaten. Despite appearance, they both cared for Lime and even though the dragon balls could be used to revive her, knew it would drastically affect Gohan's already fragile psyche, for the worst. Piccolo picked up Gohan and looked towards Vegeta who whistled. "Fucking brutal."

Piccolo let out a humorless laugh, "Let's get everyone here to the lookout, we have to make sure everyone's out of harm's way." Vegeta grunted in agreeance and the two gathered the other unconscious bodies before flying towards the sanctuary that was The Lookout.

 **Ok, damn. That was TOUGH to write. It took me a while and that much brutality is tough to do all in one sitting. I do think it turned out ok though? (I hope) I've never really done a battle scene, so this is me just attempting it. Hope it wasn't toooo bad! Hell of a lot has happened in the chapter, so let me know what you think!**

 **Also, I'll try to have another shorter chapter up in the next couple days, since I have to leave Sunday for a week or so to go be a farm hand for harvest. I won't have Internet, so I won't be able to update. Everything should be back to normal after that, so bear with me! Real life can sure be a bitch sometimes :3**

 **Thanks everyone ^.^**


	5. Reunion

**_A/N Whew, harvest was early this year, so I didn't have time to get a part up before leaving and we ended up staying a bit later than planned because we got rained out a couple days. I just got back yesterday, so I wrote the rest of the chapter and decided to get it uploaded asap! It's not quite as long as normal, but I'm off normal work for a couple of weeks, so updates should be more frequent after this one, in fact, I have a bit of the next chap planned out already! :) Hope you're all not too upset or anything about it, but I'm doing the best I can… Things would've been so much easier if I had internet up there.. smh. Well anyways, on to the replies! ^.^_**

 ** _Zyrothe- RIGHT?! Damnit Broly, why do you gotta be such a dick? But thanks for the vote of confidence and you'll find out what happens to Lime right now. :3 Thanks for checking the story out!_**

 ** _WineIXI- Thanks, glad you like it! I'll keep up on this and see it through to the end, it's becoming somewhat of an obsession haha, so don't worry about it!_**

 ** _Drama Llama-Sama- Yeah, I wanted to give Gohan some shit to wade through and I actually had this event planned out before even starting the story! Broly is sorta clichè, but meh he is for a reason, no other character really fits quite as well power-wise at this point in the story. But sorry about not going into detail about that, I may do a flashback or something later about it? Or maybe a one-off or two of some childhood adventures the two had… now that'd be fun to write about ^.^ And sorry the wall thing was sorta confusing, looking back, I could've been much more clear about it. It simply meant that Broly was so much stronger and had so much ki that he simply didn't budge when Gohan hit him, just like in the anime. Also, being on the farm was kinda nice, it was relaxing being away from everything for a bit._**

 ** _Lightningblade49- (ch3)Yeah, Hercule could be quite an idiot.. but on a side note, I really think DBS has done a decent job making him an actual likable character! (ch4) Yeah, that'd be crazy to watch… I'd imagine Vegeta would've done the same thing at some point though. Thanks for the interest :)_**

 ** _LightningThorn- Hah, ironic that you and lightning blade reviewed right next to each other :3 Glad to see you enjoyed uberpissed Gohan hah! Glad you're enjoying the story and here's some more!_**

 ** _Hero in the shadows1- For real, poor kids had life kick their ass quite a bit. I've been giving a lot of thought as to how to write the characters and I think that I've pinned down roughly how I want Gohan to act, so I really do hope you enjoy and thanks for reviewing :)_**

 ** _Sith Raven's Shadow- (ch2) I really don't know why I'm responding to this, but I really like to respond to everyone. That being said, I really have you idea what you meant, unless you were ridiculing my use of a flashback… which I find to be really important to the story. There's plenty more to read, so it'll all be good!_**

 ** _Nintendo98- Glad you're liking it and glad you appreciate the brutality! :) I wanted to give a pretty big contrast between normal, peaceful Gohan and super pissed, newly transformed Gohan, kinda showing him lose control a bit. Thanks for taking the time to review and I'll try to keep making material you'll enjoy! :)_**

 ** _Ok replies are done but I have one confession to make… I think I'm obsessed with the story :3 The whole time I was gone, I was thinking about how much easier some of the farming shit would be if Gohan existed (or really any of them). I thought up a lot of different scenarios and plot points for this story and I'm excited to use them.. I mean 8+ hours a day alone either on the fencerow, a tractor, hay truck, or dirt bike is quite a bit of time to think. Meh anyways, I also have another interesting bit of information (if anyone cares). I had a really crazy dream up there one night that gave me an epic idea for a Naruto oneshot. Naruto!? Yeah, crazy, right? I hope you guys like that show, even a little, but I won't let it get in the way of this story! I'll make it either when this is done or if I get writers block for it._**

 ** _WHEW, now with that extremely long author's note out of the way, I hope you all enjoy the story! :)_**

 _Satan Residence_

"Hup.. HA.. Ya! Hmph.. HAA!" The lean muscled frame of a nearly 15 year old girl with raven hair and shining blue eyes was working over a heavy bag, alone in a dimly lit gym. Little scrapes and blisters covered her hands and feet from working so hard, stung by the salt of sweat, dripping from every pore.

 _Just 25 more for each hand.. c'mon Videl, you've got this. NOW!_

Since the horrific loss of her mother years ago, Videl had changed. Drastically. Once a bubbly ball of light hearted energy, she was now always serious and had an incredibly short temper. She drove everyone away, except her two closest friends, and her father. All that drove her was a mind-numbing hatred for evil, which shaped her to this day.

 _23…24…25. Yes! Ok, quick rest then to the jumprope for 3 minutes and then kicks._

Witnessing something so traumatic at such a young age would be enough to mentally scar any child in any number of ways. In Videl's case, she blamed the criminal and by extension, evil itself. She felt that becoming strong and protecting those being threatened was the best way to honor her mother's memory. That ambition, along with a natural physical talent led to the youngest Satan becoming a fighting powerhouse. She'd won tournament after tournament, often fighting in the adult devision and many claimed that she was becoming as strong as her father. Yet, Videl didn't care about any of that in the least. She was just training to become strong enough to beat her father, who refused to let her fight crime with the police force until she'd beaten him in a fight.

 _2:30… 2:50… and 3 minutes! Ok, kicks! 1..2..3.._

Apart from Sharpner and Erasa, Videl kept to herself, not bothering with any of her other peers which she all deemed as fake. If she wasn't the daughter of Mr. Satan or so good at fighting, none of the others would bother to look at her, so why should she give any of them the time of day? She had all she needed in those two. However, it didn't stop the school from treating her as a celebrity, she was always invited to parties, along with Erasa and Sharpner and often the topic of discussion in a room before she walked in. Videl couldn't understand why the others seemed to like her so much, when she never even talked to them, but just chalked it up to her father's fame.

 _ARGH! Damnit ankle, stop hurting so damn much! Push through it Videl, do it for mom. Ok.. 49..50! Now, a mile jog for a cool down, then time for dinner and homework… and maybe a shower._

Though Videl was scarred, she was worried more and more for her father. They had been so close and she still loved him, but she couldn't deny that he'd changed. He still tried to act the same and be there for her, but she could smell alcohol on his breath more often than not and he slipped into a depression. She could tell that he shouldered the blame for the death on himself and stepped out of the spotlight, focusing more on raising his daughter and fighting habits than becoming a huge celebrity, but regardless, he was still revered by the world and a massive public figure. He tried to continue giving the daughter he so loved the image of a perfect life, but the older she grew, the more perceptive she became.

 _Alright, that should do it. Time to eat!_

The sweat-laden teen turned off the lights to the gym and closed the door, running towards the dining room. The aroma of perfectly cooked steak wafted through the hallway, signifying that dinner was ready. "Smells sooo good!"—Videl put on the familiar mask that was a happy smile and strolled into the room—"Hi Dad, how was your day?"

The sunken eyes of a man, tired of living, looked up from his plate. Hercule put on his best smile and tried to brighten up his expression before speaking, "Oh, fine honey. Had a few meetings, nothing too crazy. Yours?"

"Oh, school was fine. I beat some stupid senior jock who was trying to bully a classmate in a pull-up contest during gym today, so that was fun."

Hercule snorted and offered up his daughter a genuine smile, "What's he thinking? How deranged could he be to think he'd have a chance against my Videl?"

"Oh, shut up Dad." Videl slightly blushed at her father's compliment, knowing it was from the heart. Even though she knew it was true, it somehow made her feel so much better to hear her father's approval.

The rest of the meal was ate in a peaceful mood. The two shared small talk about different aspects of the day and a new fighting form that Videl wanted to try learning. They finished up right as the sun started to take on a dull orange glow in the sky.

 _Well that's good, Dad seems to be in a better mood today. I don't smell any alcohol on him and come to think of it, I haven't in a few days now. Maybe he's starting to do better?_

"Well Dad, that was good. Time for homework now and maybe a shower! Mr. Koa gave us a lot tonight, so better get started early. Love you!"

"Oh okay, make sure you take your time and do a good job on it. Love you too, goodnight honey."

Both of them smiled at each other before walking in opposite directions, Videl towards her bathroom and Hercule to the theatre. Right when they reached their respective hallways, the lights cut out with a _snap,_ leaving an eerie half-light from the setting sun. Shadows lengthened and the dining room started to look more and more like the scary movie she'd seen with Erasa a few days back. A second later, a deafening _crack_ of wood being splintered and cracked rang throughout the house, followed by the heavy footsteps of two people.

Videl let out a small yelp and her eyes widened in panic, she looked at her father who wore the same shocked expression before narrowing his eyes, becoming deadly serious. "Videl, stay here and hide. I'm going to see who the hell this is." Her father's tone was harsh, almost taking on a panicked edge to it. Mr. Satan ran off towards the sound, leaving Videl alone in the dining room.

 _Like hell I will, I haven't trained this much for nothing._

Videl looked over at the table for a second, then decided against taking a knife, trusting her unarmed skills that she trained daily over the metal. She silently crept through her house, following the sound of her father's footsteps, making it most of the way there before she heard her father shout, "HEY! What do you think you're doing in my house!"

A muffled voice of a man retorted, "Shit, didn't think he'd get here this quick, shoot him Sal!"

The second voice was a low grumble, "On it."

A loud bang echoed throughout the house and the pained cry of Mr. Satan followed shortly after.

"ARGH! NO! NOT AGAIN!" Videl heard shuffling before the dull thud of flesh shook the foundation of the house.

Cold fear clutched at Videl's stomach and instantly, she assumed the worst, yet she couldn't move. Terror held her in place, her mind blank.

"Sal! Ya bastard, you'll pay for that! Here, catch some more lead, see if you can throw a punch after this."

Two more shots were fired and the harsh scent of gunpowder filled the air. Mr. Satan let out another yell, this one more pained than the first and filled with panic. The sounds jolted Videl out of her trance and she sprinted towards the robber. She rounded the corner and witnessed a horrific scene.

A man laid unconscious on the ground, a bloody hole in the wall right above him. Next to that was a masked man holding a pistol, slowly making his way over to the monster of a man struggling to stand up in a small pool of blood a few feet away.

The young fighter's heart raced and she fought back bile. Flashbacks of her mother's death were assaulting every sense she had and it was all she could do to keep from having an anxiety attack.

 _No, no, no, no, no… Mom.. Dad.. No, no, noo_

"Sorry Champ, nothin' personal. The boss just needed some extra cash and you've got a bunch layin' around. You'll be able to see your wife soon this way too, eh?"

Pain. Rage. Hatred. These thoughts tore through Videl's psyche, becoming all she could feel, snapping at the mention of her mother. She covered the distance between her and the masked man within a second and grabbed his shooting wrist, twisting sharply and pulling upwards. A sharp snap and a yelp of pain came from the man as he dropped the gun to the floor.

"Bastard.. don't talk about her like that and DON'T TOUCH MY FAMILY!"

"Little bitch that hurt! I was gonna let you live but now you're gonna join your family here real soon!"

The larger man took a swing at the teen, but she ducked under it, quickly moving around his arm and struck him hard in the temple, knocking him back and stunning him for a second. Pressing her advantage, she aimed a hard kick right at the thug's jaw, connecting with a satisfying thud, causing him to crumple to the floor, completely unconscious. Videl stood over the man and kicked him once more in the nose for good measure, before rushing back over to her father. He was pretty badly injured, two bullet holes decorated the Champ's right arm, but those weren't fatal. The one Videl was worried about was the damp patch on his stomach. "Dad.. no hang in there an ambulance should be here soon, the alarm system called, so just fight, ok!? STAY AWAKE."

Mr. Satan tried to speak, but instead of words, a cough came from his throat, bringing up blood, spattering them both. So, he just nodded and squeezed his daughter's hand with his left and soon enough, sirens could be heard. "You're doing great dad, they're almost here. Ok? Stay alive. You have to.." His grip slackened and Mr. Satan struggled to nod but couldn't.

"DAD. No, no, no this can't be happening.. WHY!? First mom now.. no. Dad, you NEED to live. I.. I argh I love you damnit, stay alive, I NEED YOU." Videl let out a scream, a heartbreaking sound with a bone crushing weight of sorrow and loss, tears covering her face. The paramedics sprinted in and lifted Hercule on a stretcher, trying to stabilize his condition.

Another man walked up to her, a policeman this time, and attempted to console her, but the words fell upon deaf ears. Videl could hear nothing but ringing and the beating of her own heart. Tears were still streaming down her face, but the policeman took her by the hand and led her to his car. Numb to the outside world, she allowed herself to be herded into the car and taken to the hospital, where she waited for her father to come out of intensive care.

She sat, oblivious to the outside world, staring at a wall in the waiting room, unresponsive to anyone, waiting for someone to tell her if her last remaining family member was going to live or not. But, the hours ticked by. Time kept flowing onwards, around the girl, marching forward, much to slow for comfort. Finally, the doors crept open and a doctor addressed Videl with news of her father. Instantly, her head snapped towards him and her senses returned to her in a rush. Her heart pounded again and butterflies threatened to burst from her stomach.

"Miss Satan, you're father's going to be completely fine. The bullets missed everything major, no idea how that happened though. Call it what you want, but it was nothing short of a miracle. Give him some time to rest up and the Champ will be back in the gym in no time. I'll let you know as soon as he wakes up, but for now, you should really go take a shower and eat something." He smiled and walked off, after giving some instructions to the receptionist.

Warm relief seeped through Videl's being, washing through every ache and pain she felt, warming her more than any sauna could. She sank back in her chair and let out a breath that she didn't even know she'd been holding. Tears once again flowed out of her already red and puffy eyes, but this time tears of joy. Her father was still alive. He was going to live. She wouldn't be alone.

 _Dad's going to be alright… It's okay… Thank you mom. I know did something up there to help out, so thank you so much._

From that day on, Videl never smelt alcohol on the breath of her father and Hercule's depression completely vanished, instead it was replaced by a man who was full of life, eyes full of energy, a fire in them from a man with a will to live. She now rarely ever trained alone and was fully supported by her father, who worked with nearly the same intensity as the sapphire-eyed beauty. Videl was only driven further in her convictions by this incident, pushing herself further and further, seeking to eradicate evil from the planet, one criminal at a time. Seeking to uphold her mother's memory in the best way she knew how.

 _Kami's Lookout, Hours After the Fight_

"We have all seven now?" A dull, emotionless voice came from an equally emotionless face.

Minutes after he woke up from the fight with Broly, Gohan took off alone to find the dragon balls. Both Piccolo and Vegeta figured this would happen, so the as soon as he was healed, the older Saiyan went to his wife to retrieve the radar. The group were all anxious to see the younger demi's reaction to what had happened, but rather than some rage induced, explosive call for revenge, they were greeted by an overly calm, almost dead faced Gohan. The second he confirmed the ki's were normal for those present at the fight, he powered up to the second form, caught the radar that Vegeta tossed to him, and shot off the tile, without a word.

A few tense minutes passed and the boy returned with five of the starred orange orbs. The next sixty seconds brought the last two.

"Yeah they're all here, but what do you want to do with the second wish?" The younger Namekian and newest guardian of the earth tentitativley questioned Gohan.

"I've got something in mind. Shenron, rise."

A brilliant flash of light against a now blackened sky shot up and a dragon appeared. The deep, bassy growl of the dragon mentally rang out, "You have awakened me from my slumber, mortal. State your two wishes and they shall be granted."

"Revive Lime from the dead for the first wish and for the second, move her to 439 Mountain Area."

A brilliant glow emanated from the dragon's eyes once, then twice. "It is done. I shall return to my slumber once again."

Before the orbs even had the chance to rise up, Gohan, still transformed, flew off towards his home, leaving behind the stunned group. Yet, no one stopped him. They had no idea how he was feeling and decided it was better for him meet up with Lime alone rather than in front of everyone. The group was silent for a time, all having downcast expressions, full of their own thoughts about the unfairness of the situation. Finally, Piccolo voiced what they were all thinking, "Life really isn't fair to that kid.."

Gohan arrived in the front yard of his house a few seconds later and let out a breath, trying to calm his mounting nerves and returning his hair to its natural color.

 _What the hell am I going to say to her… I'm fucking useless…_

Seconds later, the glowing outline of a 15 year old girl appeared. The glowing intensified, brighter and brighter from a warm golden light until it was uncomfortable to look at. Eventually, the light receded, fading into the tan skin, blue jeans, and simple white tee-shirt she so often wore. Once the light was gone, Lime found Gohan's now pained eyes, and met them with a sad, knowing smile.

 _How do I talk to her after that? She doesn't look surprised or anything, so she must have some clue of what went on, but why the hell did I let her go through that.. I'm such a goddamn failure. What do I even do? How do I make up for it.. aghh what do I even say?_

"Lime.. I.. uh.. well I.." Gohan's mind was an absolute whirlwind of different thoughts, he had so many things to say, yet he didn't know how to say them.

She shook her head, cutting him off, opening her mouth to say something, but instead tears welled in her glowing emerald eyes. She looked up at him through blurred vision and let out a choked sob. She ran to the teen standing opposite of her, throwing her arms around his middle before breaking down completely into a mess of sobs and tears, completely letting her guard down around the one she felt the most at peace around, understandably terrified of the events that had happened earlier that day. Gohan had no idea what to do, so he just embraced her back, with a hug that communicated all he felt. Sorrow, regret, remorse, but above all, a fierce, burning desire to protect his family from any and all danger, promising to never let anything like this happen again.

For what seemed like hours, they stood there, the only sound that could be heard was Lime's sobbing, growing quieter over time. Eventually, Lime broke the embrace and took a deep, shaky breath.

"You did so good Gohan…"

The onyx eyes teen turned his eyes away, a darkness overtaking them, "No.."

"Yes, you really did. You know, as well as I do that no one else could have done anything like that. I don't blame you for anything. Actually, a lot has happened. I pretty much know everything that happened down here and met a blue being named King Kai who explained a lot too… It really wasn't bad at all Gohan, so don't be too tough on yourself, ok?"

Gohan's eyes widened in surprise for a second before they took back on the same downtrodden expression as before. He couldn't bring himself to say anything, so he just nodded unconvincingly. One question still burned in his mind, a huge source for grief and guilt. Lime picked up on it, realizing what it was and offered up another warm smile, illuminating her features.

"…No, Gohan, don't worry. I.. Well, I didn't feel anything at all. One second I was jumping in front of your brother and the next, I was being greeted by King Kai."

Relief softened his hard expression for a second and he felt better, until he reminded himself of the failures earlier that day. The same old expression came back, and he looked directly into Lime's emerald eyes.

"I'm so sorry Lime… I really screwed up and failed again and I'm sorry for that. I promise you right now, on my life, that I will not let any worthless piece of trash like Broly hurt you again. I'll train and get stronger and stronger until I can control this new power perfectly and you'll never have to go through anything like that again. And thank you. Really. Thank you so damn much for saving my little brother.. no, _our_ little brother. I'm so proud of you for acting so quick and I owe you."

Lime widened her smile, blushing ever so slightly at the praise she got from someone she valued so much. "You don't owe me anything, got it?"—she playfully punched his shoulder—"He's basically my brother too, I'd be more upset with myself if I just did nothing. But Gohan, about that power you're talking about.. I saw the whole fight and King Kai kind of explained what was going on… To tell you the truth, it scared the hell out of me." Lime lost her smile and it was replaced by a concerned look.

Shame contorted the older boy's face into a strained frown. Butterflies floated around his stomach and for a brief second, Gohan was scared that he'd lose the only friend his age that he'd ever made. "I…. I don't really know what to say… I just kinda lost it and the best way I can put it is that I got lost. Lost inside myself and lost inside that power you saw and looking back at it, I scared myself. That's why I'll control it. I won't stop until I do. That being said, I don't regret any of it. That bastard deserved to die and if I didn't kill him, he would've wiped out planet after planet, until there was nothing left. I may have been a bit too rough, but I can't do anything about that now. I'm sorry it scared you and I hope you won't look at me any differently, because if I lose you.. I.. I really would probably go insane."

"I know, I know… Don't worry I'm not going anywhere.. Just please, promise me that you'll stay in control from now on?"

"Yeah… I won't let that power get ahold of me like that again."

"Good. I know you have a temper, but its easy to look past, since you only really get mad for the sake of other people, never yourself. Stay like that, ok? But really, the way the Kai explained it was terrifying. I mean I knew you guys were all crazy strong.. but strong enough to completely like.. destroy solar systems? That's just unreal… How can something like that even exist? Logistically, it makes no sense.. At all, but whatever I guess. I don't have much of a choice but to just accept it. Oh and one last thing, he also… well gave me a message from your father…"

Gohan's facial features instantly took a serious turn, but his eyes sparked with boyish excitement "Y-yes?"

Lime smiled, noticing his barely contained excitement, showing another side of him that no one ever really saw. Gohan would get along just fine with people, but was also sort of… restrained, serious and unable to truly enjoy life, like something was holding him back. "Well… he said he tried to contact you guys but another Kai stopped him for some reason. They didn't seem too upset about it, so there must be a good reason for them stopping the contact."—Gohan looked angry, then curious, but nodded, signaling for her to continue—"He did say that he's been keeping busy training and meeting new fighters, so King Kai said Goku was about as happy as he could be in Other World. Also, he saw the fight and said he was so proud of you, but he would catch up to you, so keep training hard."—Tears stung the boy's eyes and he nodded once more, thinking to himself that it was just like his father to say something like that—"Last thing King Kai told me was that he was sorry he couldn't talk to you guys when Goten was born, but he loves the three of you dearly. He asked you to look out for them and to train Goten to control his powers and learn to fight, at least enough to defend himself. He says he misses you all and hopes you're doing well and that he'll see you as soon as he can."

When she was finished, Gohan just stood there, taking it all in. Today was one hell of a day and he wasn't quite sure how he felt. Hours ago, he was bearing the weight of a crushing failure and death of his best friend, then he reconciled with her and now he'd had the first contact with his father in years. So many thoughts and emotions spun around Gohan's head that he thought he was going to be sick. All he knew for sure is that this overwhelming sense of guilt and incompetence wasn't going to leave him anytime soon. He sighed, resigning himself to the familiar emotions and noticed the approaching ki of his family, the Briefs, and Piccolo.

"The others are coming, let's go inside and make some tea or something."

Lime looked at him oddly, almost surprised that this was his response after hearing something so big, but came to the conclusion that he probably just had a lot on his mind. So she just nodded and followed Gohan into the comfortable familiarity of the Son home. He started rustling around, getting out cups for tea and a few snacks. Lime walked over and started to help him out, enjoying the comfortable silence that hung between them, but they each noticed it was sort of strained. But, they each had their own thoughts and were perfectly happy simply enjoying the silent companionship between them. The mood now was in stark contrast to that of earlier in the day. Right now it was peaceful, the fading sun was casting a warm glow in the room and the aroma of freshly brewed tea filled the air. It was hard to imagine that earlier in the day, the girl in the room was dead and the boy almost dismembered her killer. It was surreal and neither of them really knew how to react to it.

Eventually, the whole group showed up and a somber meeting followed. Tea was served and everyone ate the snacks. A strained explanation of what had happened to the both of them was given to all present and after, no one really knew what to say. Some attempts at discussion from the more vocal of the group died out quickly, replaced by silence. After a while, Piccolo announced he had to get back to the lookout and got up to leave.

"Here, I'll walk you out." Gohan stood up and Piccolo perked an eyebrow. The two walked out, leaving the dead room and out into the cool night air. Gohan took a deep breath and sighed heavily. "Sorry Piccolo, I just needed to get out of there for a bit.. and.. well, thanks for dropping by…and… for everything"

Piccolo gave a rare, genuine smile, one that very few ever saw, knowing just how difficult it was for Gohan to openly say something that meant so much. He put an arm on the shorter boy's shoulder, before doing something extremely un-Piccolo-like, and pulled his former student into a rough father-like embrace, "Gohan, life isn't fair. Especially not for someone like you. If I could, I would take your place and shoulder all of this, but I'm far too weak and for that, and I'm ashamed. But it is what it is and you're the one with all the responsibility. This past 24 hours must have been tough, hell these past years must've been tough, but you're doing a fine job. I don't know of one other person, save your father, who could've done anything better. I'm proud, your mother's proud, your father, Lime, all of us. So stay strong, but don't be afraid to rely on us, okay?"

Gohan stood there, wide eyed and lost for words, shocked at just how much Piccolo had been saying. "Piccolo… Th-thank you."

His familiar scowl returning, the disgruntled Namekian gave a rushed grunt and flew off with a transparent burst of energy.

 _Damnit Piccolo, I wasn't ready for anything like that.. but thank you. Maybe I should start talking to them a little more.. I mean they're always trying to help, but I hate bothering them with my problems. I don't have a right to do so when they're mine in the first place… But maybe it wouldn't be so bad… I guess?_

He was interrupted form his thoughts when the Brief's family walked out, followed by ChiChi and Lime, holding a sleeping Goten. Bulma threw out a capsule and out of a plume of smoke another jetcopter appeared. Before boarding, she walked over to Gohan and gave him a peck on the cheek, bidding him goodnight, effortlessly avoiding discussing the events of the day. She turned and boarded her craft, beckoning for Vegeta to follow. He shot her a scowl and then turned to Gohan before following his wife. "I'll see you tomorrow for training."

Gohan flashed a quick smile and waved to the three leaving, silently thanking Vegeta for giving him some space. ChiChi did the same and they took off towards Capsule Corporation. Right after they left, Lime said she was going to go put Gohan to bed and start on the dishes. Now all that was left was a mother and her son alone in the soft glow of the moonlight. A lone cricket sounded off over and over again, calling for its kind and the night air began to cool off. Gohan, about to ask his mother if she wanted to go inside, turned and was surprised to see silent tears falling down his mother's face. "Mom! What's wrong?"

She wiped her eyes and gave a sad smile to her son before shaking her head, "I'm sorry son…I'm sorry I can't do anything. As far as I'm concerned, I lost a daughter today and I couldn't do a single thing about it. Instead, we all relied on you to make everything work out, just like always. Son, I feel horrible that I can't be a protective mother to you and everyone here and I hate that we always have to leave everything to you. No child should ever have to go through things like these, but we're a special family. We're put in these extreme situations all to often and for what it's worth, I'm so proud of you for being that person we can rely on. Thank you for being such a good son and please, don't beat yourself up too much over what's in the past. Learn from it and look forward. Whether we like it or not, you'll have this role your whole life, but you'll be going to high school soon, too. I want you to have fun there and make friends and live some sort of a normal life, even if only for a little. I'm just… worried… and sorry I couldn't do more."

Tears stung Gohan's eyes as well but he managed to keep his voice steady, "Mom.. no. Don't feel bad about anything, none of this is your fault and I'll be just fine. I can handle it, today was just… well I wasn't ready for it and that was my fault. I know I need to grow up faster than most kids my age, but none of that is because of you. Mom… You're honestly the strongest woman I know, so don't worry about anything. I'll never let anything like this happen again and I'll train to protect you all. You've done more than enough. Thank you."

ChiChi smiled, stomach burning with pride for her oldest son. She motioned for him to come inside and walked in. Lime had finished up with dishes and Goten was sleeping in ChiChi's room, she was now sitting on the couch just relaxing, half asleep. "Lime! Thank you for doing the dishes."—she let out a long yawn—"Well kids, It's been a crazy day and I'm tired. I'm off to bed, I'll see you in the morning, goodnight, sweet dreams and all that." She waved and stumbled down the carpeted hallway, off to bed. The only two up now were Gohan and Lime, neither of which were tired enough to sleep yet, so Gohan walked over and turned on the TV, some scary movie came on, one that Lime loved so much. He'd never really gotten the appeal of those movies, as he'd never really found them very scary. If he was in any of these situations, he'd do everything differently and nothing he found in them could really hurt him, so they lost their entertainment value. Nevertheless, he'd watch them with her just because she was so fond of them. For a while, neither of them said anything, not really knowing what to say, instead they just enjoyed each others company and watched.

 _This might lighten up the mood a bit, heh, never gets old._

During one of the most intense parts of the movie, when the music was loud and one of the characters was about to get killed off, Gohan used his ki to pick up a small paperweight and levitate it right above her lap. The girl was watching, with a wide eyed, eager expression, muscles all tensed up, ready for what was about to happen next. Right at the jumpscare part, Gohan cut his ki and the paperweight fell. At the same time, he jumped up and grabbed Lime's shoulder, letting out a small yell. The effect was immediate and hilarious, Lime's muscles completely tensed up and her eyes flew wide open, she jumped up and almost out of her seat and let out a loud yelp, "GOHAAN!" She turned to him and punched his shoulder.

For the first time in a while, both of them laughed together. It was a genuine, comfortable laugh that shattered through the silence and slight awkwardness that had grown between them over the course of the day. They carried on for a few minutes before falling back into the couch, with a weight lifted off both of their shoulders. Once again, they were at peace with each other.

A few movies later, Gohan felt a light thud on his shoulder. He looked down to find Lime's peacefully sleeping face, on a pillow of auburn hair and muscular shoulder. Smiling, he pulled her blanket over her shoulders and made himself comfortable before nodding off himself to a comfortable slumber. The two were as close as ever and the warmth of happiness once again started to melt away the ice surrounding Gohan's frostbitten, guilt-ridden, self-loathing heart.

 **A/N And there it is! Hope it wasn't too bad, it really was tough to write. But, the story is getting closer to what I'm excited the most for, Gohan's high school days :3 I've dreamt about being him going to high school so many times that it's exciting to finally make a story out of it. I have bits of the next chapter planned out already, so I hope to talk to you all again within the week :3**

 **Also, thanks so much for the support! The favorites, follows, and reviews (especially the reviews) help me so much to stay motivated. It really makes it feel like there's a reward for doing what I love and that's one hell of a feeling, so really, thank you all :)**

 **Until next time!**


	6. The Next Step

**A/N Well, I told you guys I'd try to have more time to write, so here! :) Hope you enjoy it, as this will probably be the last chapter before Gohan gets ready for high school. This'll be going into the part I'm the most excited to write, and where I'll spend a few chapters at. Ironically enough, I originally just wanted to write a story about a badass Gohan in high school, but the more I thought about it, the more ideas I got, and well, you guys know the rest. Bah, whatever, anyways, on to replies! :)**

 **Drama Llama-Sama- Glad you're still liking it! I had a feeling you'd enjoy the ending of that in particular. :) You seem to have a good eye for stories, making some accurate guesses about characters and I enjoy reading your insight, hope you keep enjoying it and hope you like the direction this chapter takes everything!**

 **anonymous- Glad to see you're enjoying the story. :) As for Mystic being weaker than SS3, I think that makes sense in DBS. During Z, I think Mystic was stronger, by quite a bit? (Correct me if I'm wrong, no hard feelings) But yeah, I'm going to definitely make Hercule less of an ass, it almost hurts me to write it, so its as much for my sanity as all of yours! But, here's the update!**

 **Hero in the shadows1- Yeah, it really is a Hard Knock Life for those two (ok, sorry for the pun, it just fit, please don't hate me, heh) and life really kicks them while they're down. But the thing with people taking Gohan's protection for granted did piss me off in the show. His mother even berated him for WANTING to protect everyone. Its ridiculous and I really dislike canon ChiChi, so I made a better one. :3 Here's the next chapter, and I'll keep writing, friend!**

 **There ya go, replies done and now here's the chapter, enjoy and by all means, R &R :)**

 _Capsule Corp. 2 Months After Broly_

"Vegeta! Gohan! Lunch is ready, come and eat!" Bulma's voice had a metallic ring to it as she called to the two training Saiyans in the gravity room. They both stopped the little sparring match at they were having at the second level of Super Saiyan and smirked, Vegeta pushed the return to normal button and instantly, hundreds of thousands of pounds were lifted from their shoulders, which was really a curious sensation, probably as close to being weightless as one could get. Before Gohan reached the door, Vegeta stopped him, "Ok kid, one last bit of training before dinner. I think you've grown used to the third stage enough that you're going to eat lunch in it. Everything you break is one free punch for me." The older of the two grinned, knowing that Gohan's Saiyan side wouldn't let him turn down the challenge.

"You're on." Gohan had a slight smirk set on an otherwise serious face. After a short amount of time, he completed the once painful transformation, becoming more used to the strain it put on his body.

"Let's go." The new, more masculine, deeper voice rumbled from Gohan's now more muscular chest. His face was now more naturally serious, more angled and dangerous, the face of a person who wouldn't hesitate to kill if crossed. Vegeta still marveled at the sheer vastness of the power the teen had and shook his head, following him out the door, still in his second form.

Over the course of the last two months, Gohan's relations with people seemed to have improved, at least on the surface. He now made more of a conscious effort to talk to his friends about different things and tried to put on a more cheery, content mask, which made those around him think he was making real progress in recovering. The only one that saw through this facade and down to the truth was Lime. She saw the lingering self hatred and regret at the core of his being, driving him to train harder and harder. Collapsing from fatigue was now something like a weekly occurrence, if not more. He'd stay up for 48 hours at a time, training and studying the whole time, feeling like he always needed more power to protect those he held dear. The demi never really forgave himself for Lime's death and made the vow that it wouldn't happen again, causing him to progress more in the last two months than he had in the past six. He'd grown slightly taller, but broadened out more so than anything, looking more like his father, but with a tail. He still wore the same scars, seeing them also as incentive to become stronger, not fully forgiving himself for his father either.

The two battle hardened warriors came strolling into the dining room, still transformed, dripping sweat and cut up everywhere, earning disapproving looks from Bulma. She still wasn't used to Gohan's new form, as she'd only seen it a few times and it was such a drastic change that it was still cause for a quick double take and comment. "You sure have some nice hair there Gohan."

He let out a deep rumble of a laugh, "Sure, sure, I've been working on it all morning."

For some reason, the sudden change in his voice always unnerved Bulma. It was like someone else was talking through Gohan's face and it just didn't fit. Knowing she would just have to accept it, she shook it off. "Well, eat up then, you two and then after, Gohan, you're with me in the lab!"

"Sure, Bulma!" Gohan's happy reply rumbled out, sounding oddly boyish when it was so deep. A disapproving grunt from Vegeta followed, who would have obviously rather spent his time training with Gohan, but had already lost that battle with his wife long ago. The tailed demi just laughed a little and picked up his glass for a drink… _crack_. The glass shattered in Gohan's hand who had trouble finding how much pressure to apply to the cup so it wouldn't slip out of his hand. "Damnit…" he whispered to himself. "HAH! That's one, boy! Please, do break more." Vegeta shot an evil grin at Gohan, who was all to aware of the deal they made minutes before. He sighed, cleaning up the mess and returning to his food.

 _This'll be a long meal…_

One plate break and fork bend later, lunch was finally over and Gohan quickly followed Bulma out to one of the many labs in Capsule Corp, trying to get away from the frighteningly happy Vegeta as he called out, "See you for training after your schooling! Heh".

"Alright Gohan, as you know, this is precision work, so we can't have any of that. Go back to normal so we don't blow up the place." The tailed boy let out a snort and exhaled, slimming up somewhat and returning his hair back to normal, "Gotcha. Where to today?"

"Well, you're actually pretty close to done with the general science studies and from there you can launch your own studies from here in whatever you like. I'd say another month or so and I've taught you all I really can, without getting into too much detail of one specific field, of course."—Gohan nodded, knowing his time as Bulma's student was growing short and he was about to graduate to lab partner—"But today, we're going to go to the robotics lab, uncapsulized, section B to focus more on the inner circuitry of AI machines. Come on, let's go!"

About four or five hours of grueling work later, Bulma announced that today's lesson was over and he could go train with Vegeta until it was time to go home. They stopped by the kitchen on their way back, meeting up with the older warrior to eat their fill before returning back to the gravity room, with Bulma going back into the lab. "That's 3 kid, get ready to spar." The shorter of the two walked over and turned the dial up to 500 times earth's gravity and powered up in his second form. Not waiting for Gohan to react, he immediately turned and drove one first into the now blonde boy's face, sending it to the side and Gohan towards the wall before the gravity caught him and sent him crashing to the floor. Spitting out some blood, he looked back at Vegeta, "Two more, let's go." Loosing a battle cry, Vegeta directed a fist at Gohan's sternum, causing him to double over before catching another blow to the nose, sending blood spurting out of it. The older one pressed his advantage and spun to deliver a foot directly in the ribcage of his sparring partner. Gohan noticed this and dropped to the side, lowering himself close to the floor before propping himself up on one hand and sending a kick out to the one leg Vegeta had left on the ground. The prince saw this and jumped backwards, avoiding it, before coming to a rest and letting out a short laugh. "Okay, let's go for real now." The two crashed into each other once more, exchanging a blindingly fast series of blows, connecting on a few, but dodging or blocking most. They continued this way for a while until a ringing sounded off in the room, signaling that it was time for Gohan to go home. The gravity automatically cut and the two smirked at each other, returning to base form and walked out. Vegeta, seeking to rile up the younger one asked in a taunting tone, "You sure you're leaving so soon? Personally, I could go for a few more hours… I might just do that hmmm. Can't be slacking off now, can we?" Gohan just rolled his eyes, nursing an ember of anger in his stomach for the comment. "Whatever old man, I bet you can't even do 1000 one fingered pushups at 500G in base."—Then Gohan smirked and sought to piss the prince right back off—"Hah, weak. Do that then we'll talk" The taller of the two turned on his heel and walked off, making it almost to the door before he felt a ki spike behind him and heard an enraged snarl. Gohan turned right in time to duck an elbow and return a left jab, which the prince blocked. "Oh bullshit kid, you're on." Vegeta walked over to the console and turned the gravity up to 550 before powering up to his max base and starting in on the workout. Not wanting to be outdone, the tailed boy quickly started on the same workout.

 _Man.. 48 hours straight a couple days ago.. 6 hours of sleep and now I'm probably gonna be here all night, Mom's gonna be pisssseeeeeed. Oh well, I can't let him think he's won, sorry mom, I'll call you later and let you know what's going on._

"998…999…Arghhhhhh….1000! HAH There boy, happy now?! Done." Vegeta's smug tone crept into his voice, proving Gohan wrong.

"999….1000…Hnnngg…1001! Ah, easy. Vegeta, you were saying?" Gohan took the same tone and smirked.

"What?! Bullshit. 1000 more, right now. GO. First one done chooses the next challenge."

"Fine, let's go."

And so they continued throughout the night, working endlessly, seeking to become stronger and stronger. Most nights training went like this and ChiChi knew how it was and why Gohan did it, so she really didn't bother him about it much. She, however was more worried about Lime and Goten who had been spending less and less time with Gohan since he was always either training or studying. Goten complained about it to his mother, but quickly forgot about it if Gohan would play with him for a few hours, so no real damage was done there. Lime on the other hand stayed silent about being ignored, because she knew his reasoning behind it, but it still hurt. Her closest friend, her brother couldn't make time for her, and even though she knew that a big reason he was ignoring her was, in a sense, for her, she still felt unwanted. It put a slight strain on the two's relationship that both Gohan and ChiChi were starting to pick up on. That aside, the two were worried about him, constantly pushing himself until he would simply collapse of exhaustion. It couldn't be healthy, but then again, neither of them knew what really was good or bad for a Saiyan, and when they confronted him about it, Gohan said he was fine and that he'd seen great results, so why not? After all, they did know about the boost that Saiyans got from near death experiences, so this might have been something close to the same thing and he never got sick… Nevertheless, the two worried for their family.

 _Orange Star High School_

"Alright kids, two laps around the track and then it's a free day for P.E. As long as you're doing something active, then you'll get an A for the day. Carry on!"

The students all nodded and the pack took off, making their way around the track. Before long, one lone figure bounded ahead of the rest, effortlessly striding further away from the group, earning a mixture of jealous glares and looks of admiration. Videl Satan took her place at head of the pack, finishing the full two laps before more than half of the class even completed their first. Without waiting for any others, she quickly made her way over to where the boxing club practiced and started working on different fighting forms, ignoring the world around her. A short while later, she heard the last few finish up, which happened to be a group of senior guys who all played sports.

 _Disgusting. They look to be in decent shape, but they give that kind of effort? They'll never get anywhere, idiots._

Videl caught herself sending an involuntary glare towards the group, which they picked up on. They met her glare and all at once, the group roared into laughter, being much louder than necessary, to try and get as much attention as possible.

 _Attention whores. Pathetic. They're like 18 and still doing this? Grow up._

She rolled her eyes and looked away. "Man boss, she'd be pretty cute if she didn't act so bitchy.. ahhhhaha"

"Yeah man, for real. Just because she has money, she thinks she's better than everyone else. Must be nice being a princess."

 _Wow, pulling out all the stops, creative, guys. Wonder what makes them feel the need to say stuff like that? Hmm. Guess I'll never understand. Back to training!_

Unperturbed, Videl started working over the heavy bag in front of her, each punch and kick furthering herself towards her goal. She simply didn't have the time to deal with them. As long as she was the target of their insults, it was just fine.

"Hah, ignoring us? Wow… she must be really stupid. I need to use that heavy bag anyways, I was just thinking she could at least be considerate enough to move aside, eh? A girl can't use the damn thing right anyways."

By now, the group of senior guys had dispersed for the most part and three remained, the three biggest idiots of the group Videl thought. They burst into another fit of uproarious laughter, "HAH So true man, but she is kinda a guy with all that training and _fighting_ she does." he overemphasized fighting for a sarcastic effect.

"Heh, exactly. Step aside kid, I'll show you how to throw a punch."

 _Goddamnit, I REALLY don't have time for this. Pretty sure there's another punching bag somewhere he can hangup. Do they really have to be this stupid? So annoying._

Videl let out an exasperated sigh, but before she said anything, another girls voice popped up, higher pitched than Videl's, "Guys, I'm pretty sure there are more of those over there if you want to grab one…"

 _Shit.. its that girl I helped out a while ago. Why does she think she owes me anything? I appreciate the sentiment girl, but I can handle myself, its you I'm worried about._

Again, the leader of the group spoke up, "If I wanted to use another heavy bag, I would've by now, dumbass, now stop fucking talking before you embarrass yourself."

The group found this absolutely hilarious and fell into another fit of laughter, causing the already rattled girl to shrink further, undoubtedly destroying what little courage she had, damaging her self confidence in the process. Like a caged animal, she cowered back in fear, not knowing how to react, she looked once at Videl, who stopped training and glared at the three. Seeking to impress her idol, she stood up to the group, "They're all the same, stop being mean and leave Videl alone to train, she's not hurting anyone."

Raising an eyebrow, the same guy spoke up, "Yeah, bitch? Remember how I asked you? Yeah, me neither, now _leave._ " The same time he spoke the last word, the boy pushed the smaller freshman, causing her to stumble back, and trip, falling hard on her back. Finally having enough, Videl walked over to her elder, pissed off and fire in her eyes. In one fluid motion, she aimed a low kick at the boy's ankles, lifting them both off the ground and pushed his neck forward, causing his face to hit first with an extremely satisfying _thud_. Not waiting for a response, Videl walked over to the girl on the ground, in shock of what just happened.

"Maria, I really appreciate this, thanks, but you don't owe me anything. I'm glad to help you out, but don't worry about me, I can handle some idiots like them, no problem."—Videl flashed her warmest smile and laughed lightly, reaching her hand out to help the girl on the ground—"But that was brave. I don't know how many others that would stand up to those three, way to kick ass."

Maria stood up to her full height, slightly shorter than Videl, brown haired with brown eyes, tanned skin, and a not too unattractive figure. She was pretty normal looking, not really standing out, but in Videl's opinion, had one of the best personalities of anyone she met at the school.

 _Hmm, maybe they're not all bad.. She seems nice enough, maybe I'll keep an eye on her._

"Thanks, Videl! I-" She was cut off by the same boy that pushed her earlier, "BITCH. What, do you think you could get away with doing that because you're a girl? Hell no." He advanced towards Videl, who returned his glare with one of equal intensity. "Tony, don't be a dumbass. You want to do something, go get gloves and get in the ring, unless you're scared or something?"

He gave an evil grin, showing his obvious mal-intent, "Oh great idea."

Maria gave a concerned look to Videl, which she returned with one of assurance and eagerness, ready to embarrass the asshole who seemed to make it his personal mission to belittle everyone that wasn't his crony. Minutes later, they both made their way to the ring for a sparring match. Of course, the school didn't allow these things during P.E. class, but since Videl Satan was involved, the instructor looked the other way, after all, without her father, the school wouldn't be even half of its current size.

"Ready?" Videl asked, not really caring if he was or not.

"Hah, I usually don't hit girls, but I'll make a special exception for you."

"Who said anything about you actually hitting me?"

"Cocky bitch."

With that, Tony shuffled forward and sent a looping haymaker, on course to Videl's cheek.

 _He's way too far on his front foot, horribly off balanced. He might hit me if I was blind, but I really have no idea how he's won a fight before. Oh well, I'll probably enjoy this a little more than I should._

With ease, Videl ducked under the sloppily thrown punch and threw a straight, hard jab right to his ribs, causing him to stumble back and inhale sharply. Undeterred, he decided to change up his tactics and tighten up his fighting style a bit. He squared up, feet now in a sturdy base, and held his hands up in a classic boxing form. Letting out a grunt, he threw a heavy, slow left jab, followed by a sloppy cross. Videl sidestepped the first jab and then ducked under the cross, springing up in front of him, throwing another hard jab into his sternum, causing Tony to double over, the wind forced from his lungs. Using the downward motion of his head as leverage, she drove an uppercut, straight and true right to the larger boy's jaw, knocking him out cold and onto his back.

"Told you, idiot. Don't even know how to throw a punch." Videl jumped out of the ring and all of a sudden heard cheers, claps, and laughter from the other students. Little did she know, this little skirmish caught the attention of the entire class and all present, aside from the two who were now attending Tony, thought the fight was comical. Without even realizing it, Videl earned herself a fanbase in the school. Blushing furiously, Videl quickly put on her best stern face and returned to training, trying to ignore the class.

 _Greaaat, this'll make it that much harder to train… But well… at the same time… it_ does _feel kinda nice to have them like me for something other than my father for a change._

Taking a short breath, she let her emotions surface into a slight smile, illuminating her face before redoubling her training efforts for the rest of class.

 _Gohan's 17th Physical Birthday, 439 Mountain Area_

 _"_ Gohaaaan Gohaaaannn Wake up, wake up, wake up! It's your birthday, let's play!" An overly hyper four year old bounced up and down on his brother's chest, full of energy, a spitting image of his father. The older brother moved slightly, groaned and fell right back to sleep, tired from his last 24 hour training session. Unperturbed, the boy continued on, yelling at his brother with boyish intensity, a huge, innocent grin on his face. Finally, the younger of the two succeed on his important mission, and Gohan stirred, actually awake now. Sleepily, he opened his eyes, where he was greeted by the two large, curious eyes of his brother.

"What do you need, kiddo, its early.." He groaned again, still weary. Having none of this sleepy nonsense, Goten scowled, "But brother, its your birthday and you promised to play.." His bottom lip stuck out and he pointed a small accusing finger towards Gohan. His heart melting, the now 17 year old gave in, "All right, you win."—and with a mischievous grin, he threw his brother up, and out of the open window, into the air, with Goten giggling madly the whole time—"HA! Caught ya off guard!" And he followed his little brother out the window, catching him in mid air, eventually laughing, going along with Goten's infectious giggles.

The past two years brought about some small change in Gohan's mental state. Over the course of time, it became easier for him to conduct himself around people, leading to normal conversations and completely repairing all the bonds that had been rocky before, which, whether he knew it or not, helped the demi. He was still just as bound and determined to train and study as before, but after an intervention with his mother and Lime, agreed that he'd come home more and spend more time with them. While he hated spending time doing anything other than bettering himself, his human half told him that these relationships were just as important to him. Gohan still hadn't made any other friends, but he was perfectly fine with that, especially since he had his brother. The kid was so full of life and innocent energy that Gohan couldn't help but love the child fiercely. He was equal parts brother and father to the younger demi, both scolding him for getting into trouble and roughhousing with him until ChiChi scolded them both. Gohan treasured the boy and it helped him heal the wounds of his past, ever so slightly. While there was some progress and he did lighten up and play around more, especially around Goten, he was still ruled by the same emotions he felt at the end of the Cell Games. Regret, self loathing, and anger all kept a tight grip on the hero's heart. He was still serious and his eyes still those of a battle hardened warrior, his demeanor much the same as well. However, Gohan's physical changes were probably the most drastic. He was now roughly 6' 2", but most likely done growing. His hair was the familiar shorter, gravity defying, on end cut with the same single little group of it hanging down around his eyes. Scars still decorated his body and while the one on his forehead faded slightly, it was still visible and a clear reminder of days past, same as with his shoulder. His face lost the boyish curve it once had and he now had more of an angled jawline and sharper, naturally serious features. Yet the most drastic change was his muscle tone. The warrior now looked much more like a warrior, his chest was barreled, shoulders, arms and legs were all absolutely chiseled, rippling with tight, harder than steel muscles. The same went for his core, an overly defined eight pack, with obliques chiseled on the outside, which looked more impressive than any movie. There wasn't a single ounce of fat on the fighter's well maintained body, but he was massive. In fact, ChiChi and Lime worried how he'd go unnoticed in high school with his build, even wearing long sleeved teeshirts. He looked like a full grown man in his twenties! Whatever the case, it made Gohan happy to see some physical improvement to his body, though he knew muscle had little to do with Ki prowess, and by extension, actual battle power.

After playing and training with Gohan for a while, the guests for the birthday party started showing up, so the two quickly went and took a bath and dressed in comfortable gi's, not unlike those their father used to wear. Lime and ChiChi brought out the cake they'd been working on and Bulma threw out a capsule with a huge table, an oning for shade, and gifts from the entire group of Z-fighters, who'd given them to Bulma ahead of time for safekeeping. Though what caught Gohan's eye was Lime.

She was wearing tight blue jeans and a light green v-neck teeshirt that seemed to fit a little too well. Her hair was longer now and a flowing sea of light auburn that fell around tanned skin which contrasted perfectly with her glowing emerald eyes and outfit. Her figure was extremely attractive, well toned from working and playing with the Son family, but she also already started to take on a more womanly appeal. A true, natural beauty.

 _Dear God, if she keeps this up, I may end up having to knock around most of our classmates… She can handle herself, but wow, is it really that bad of me to wish she was even a little less attractive? She's not going to be 17 for a few more months, but already looks like a 21 year old, not good.. hmmm._

"Gohan! Care to join us or are you going to celebrate all by yourself?" Lime's rich, carefree voice reached Gohan's ears and he jumped slightly, "What? Ah, sure, yeah be right over!"

The group all laughed and soon enough, they sang to him loudly, off key, but with crazy enthusiasm, with Goten's voice being heard over all and he blew out the candles, wishing for another year of peace and a good start to high school, which for some odd reason, he was slightly nervous for.

"All right, let's eat!" and so the cake was served, along with ice cream and refreshments. A comfortable conversation took place and everything was relaxing and peaceful, even Piccolo and Vegeta looked to be enjoying themselves. The only part Gohan didn't like was how he seemed to be the topic of discussion, it was mainly about how he'd be attending high school soon but other topics as well, all directed either towards present day or towards the future. No one really mentioned the past, as that was a sort of unwritten rule with them. The days past carried enough pain for all of them to completely ruin the atmosphere and mood of all those present, so they simply avoided that topic completely, which the birthday boy was all too grateful for.

The day seemed to pass into night with a blur and the party started winding down, and eventually little Trunks and Goten collapsed in a heap, worn out from the day's festivities. It was quite a sight to see the two usual balls of energy still for once, breathing in a steady rhythm with peaceful expressions on their face. The two mothers nearly lost it at the sight and in a frantic flurry, found their cameras, taking picture upon picture of the two. Once they had their fun, people began leaving, saying their goodbyes and wishing Gohan luck on his upcoming school adventures. Soon enough, all that was left were the Son family and the half Son, Lime. The mess was largely cleaned up, and Gohan flew Goten up to bed, through the very window he threw the younger one out of this morning.

He heard the door shut and soft voices downstairs, so he quietly slipped out of the door and towards the two. "Oh, my baby boy's 17 and going to high school, I've always dreamed this would happen!" ChiChi let out a squeal and gave her son a heartfelt hug. He let out a light chuckle and returned the embrace.

"Yeah Gohan, it'll be weird without you around, but I'll be there next year, so don't get in too much trouble, 'kay?"

"Sure, sure, I'll be good, don't worry."

The two shared a smile for a moment then she joined in on the hug, and the thee stood there for a bit, relishing their time together, since it wouldn't be long before Gohan was home even less than before. They broke the contact and sat around conversing for a while and the situation of the now 17 year old fitting in was brought up. ChiChi gave voice to the concerns they were all having, "We all know this, sweetie, but hiding your power is probably the most important thing you can do. None of us want people on our doorstep trying to get an interview, right?"

"Of course, mom. I know that. I'll suppress my power as much as I can and try to stay out of situations with confrontations, but as for my appearance…"—he pointed to his forehead—"I can't do much about that… and I do look a few years older than the others, so I'll have to make up something for that."

This time Lime had an idea and her eyes lit up, "Well that's easy! Just say you were a martial artist and the reason you're enrolling late is that you were living in a mountain village, training, which is also why you're so big. As for the scars, just say they were from training and say you fell from a tree as a boy and split your head open. That doesn't sound too far fetched, right?"

Both of them nodded, but Gohan thought for a second and raised an eyebrow, "But won't that ask some of them to join a club? And who will I say was my master?"

Lime looked down and thought for a second before proceeding, "I've gotta pretty good idea of this, if I do say so myself. Just say your master strictly forbids fighting for play outside of the dojo and if they ask his name, just say its a family guarded secret and refer to him as Sensei. Come on, got any tough questions?"

The other two let out a quick laugh, "Well I guess that just about covers it, all except for one thing. Where do you live Gohan?"

He cocked an eyebrow, thrown off guard by the weird phrasing of his mother's question and shook his head, "I've already talked to Bulma, she's renting me out an apartment that I can 'live' in if anyone asks or wants to come over. It'll be good to have a place to keep food and take a nap too. Anything else I can just make up on the fly."

The women both nodded in thought, neither of them voicing the one question that would no doubt be asked and could connect him to fame. If anyone knew who his parents were, then the quiet life they wanted would be over. The son of Goku, a previous martial arts champion and ChiChi, the daughter of the Ox King. They figured that this is what he meant by making it up on the fly. Lime spoke up, "Well perfect then, I guess we got it all taken care of. Nervous?"

"Well, actually yeah, kinda. It's weird. I mean it is the first time I'll have been around that many people my age. What do I say? What do I talk about? I mean I know a lot of stuff but nothing that would help in conversation, ya know?"

ChiChi was not very great at meeting new people, so they both looked to Lime, someone who was naturally more social than the other two. She smiled at her brother, glad he felt close enough to the both of them to show so much emotion. "Well Gohan, that just depends on the situation. Talk to them like you'd talk to me and I'm sure you'll be fine. Whatever you do, just be yourself and find people who appreciate you for that, those are your real friends. You don't need anyone but those who like you for you. Okay?"

"Hah, pretty generic advice, but good nonetheless. Thanks Orange." Gohan gave a wry smile and chuckled to himself.

"GOHAN! That stopped being funny years ago! Shut up!"

"Well it pisses you off enough, still funny for me!" He laughed out loud this time and Lime glared in frustration before grabbing the fork next to her and hurling it at him. Gohan easily caught it and doubled over in laughter, tearing up from this laughing fit. Lime gave her best cross look, but eventually broke into a smile, laughing right along with him. ChiChi just shook her head and gave in, succumbing to a fit of laughter. Eventually it subsided and they took turns yawning widely, tired from the day. "Alright kids, ready for bed?"—They both nodded—"Good good, me too. I'll see you in the morning, love you both, goodnight! And no sleeping together!" ChiChi laughed to herself and walked off waving. Slightly flustered, the two made eye contact for a second. A brief pause followed. Gohan broke it by rolling his eyes and saying, "She thinks she's hilarious. Meh, whatever. You've got my bed I've got the couch. Night Lime, see ya in the morning."

"Yeah, yeah, night idiot. Talk to ya tomorrow." She turned away, slightly blushing and forced a laugh and thought to herself, _Ya know… I really wouldn't mind that.. No Lime, that's gross, he's like your brother! Why would you think that!? But… he really is hardcore eye candy, I mean really who could contain themselves seeing that damn near naked everyday. Ugh… oh well, I should probably stop talking to myself and just go to sleep, I'll figure it out later…_

And with that, the two walked off to lay down and go to sleep. The Son house was silent, the only noise was the steady breathing of those inside, followed by the occasional snore. Soon enough, these nights would be no more, Gohan would be off for school and Lime would be busy finishing up her homeschooling and working. Life was marching forward at the Son house, to the steady flow of time.

However, this wasn't the case in Other World. Time meant nothing there, but Goku still trained with urgency, desperately grasping at more strength, to defeat this chaotic evil that the Kais feared so much. He was told it was much stronger than Pikkon, a fighter he only just managed to beat. Goku also learned that this force would make its way to earth sooner or later, so he had to be ready for it, yet he still suspected that there was much more to this situation than met the eye.

 _Well whatever the case, I've gotta get stronger. For ChiChi. For Gohan. For Goten. I know I'm nowhere near father of the year, but I hope you three will forgive me once you know the full story. I love you all so much. Now, let's go Goku. Get stronger…stronger… STRONGER, ARRGGHHHH!_

 ** _Alright, that's it for the chapter! We get our first little peak into Other World, nothing more than a little teaser, and Gohan's last birthday before he starts school. I've got TONS of ideas for that, so I'll probably start writing on it tomorrow. No promises as to when it'll be done, as I'm going to be camping this weekend, so it'll either be before or after that. Thanks for the support, and I'll see you all next time!_**

 ** _Cheers!_**


	7. The Day Before

**A/N So quick disclaimer, this'll be a shorter chapter, life's busy and all that, but I figured you guys would want to have a little something to read until then, so here's a little something. :)**

 **Replies!**

 **Talimancer- Thanks, I'm glad you're enjoying everything! No doubt, school will be a trying time for Gohan in more ways than one!**

 **Drama Llama-Sama- Ahhh, yeah the third stage was done rather quickly, but I'd like to think its due to him finally getting some mastery over his latent power (which is a crazy amount of power, I mean just look at mystic), and I wanted to emphasize just how maniacally hard he was working at getting stronger. Meh either way, I'm glad that's the only thing you didn't like. :) But yeah, this'll be a crazy awesome time for me to work on character development and all that, so it'll be a great time, I'm actually looking forward to it quite a bit. Sorry for the Lime part, friend, I know how much you enjoy the relationship, but you pretty much hit the nail on the head when you said he was subconsciously attracted to her, that's what I was attempting to get at. He didn't want her to be so attractive, so that he could easily separate their relationship rather than have this confusion. As for Majin Buu, I'll be going for that, but with a little twist that'll make it interesting. This IS my fist FanFic, so I don't really feel comfortable with an OC. But regardless, hope you enjoy!**

 **SaiyaStyles- Glad you enjoyed it! The jump, I felt was necessary, as I meant for the before high school life to be a sort of prologue, not 6 chapters worth, but the story sort of wrote itself in my mind, so what can ya do! :) Also, sorry for the wall of text, I'll make sure to avoid it in the future! Thanks for the vote of confidence and hope you enjoy!**

 **Guest- There's a good reason for him to act so angsty, I mean the kid watched his loved ones die in front of him when he COULD have done something. More than once. And he's naturally peace loving, so that took a huge toll on his psyche. It's more ridiculous for him, IMO, acting so carefree in the anime. Sorry if you're not enjoying it, but there was angst in the title/summary thing. Maybe you'll start to enjoy the school part?**

 **mineking015- Ahhhh, see I was originally planning to end it after Buu, but if the story's received well enough then hell, I'd consider going past that. Thinking about it, there IS a lot of possibility for some crazy stuff. We'll see :)**

 **Also, this isn't a reply, but there was a spam comment (I think) where a guy told a story about him and his wife getting together thanks to a psychic and he told me and everyone who would've read it to look it up… lol I deleted it, but found it funny nonetheless. Has that happened to anyone else?**

 **Whatever the case, let's get on with the slightly shorter chapter! Feel free to R &R and I hope everyone enjoys. :3**

"Gohan! Get down here, you're going to be late! The entrance exams start in an hour!" ChiChi was frantically getting breakfast ready, spurring her son to get up and get going. Today was the big day, Monday, test day and she wasn't about to let her son be late to such an important event.

Mumbling to himself, Gohan slumped down the hall in a dazed stupor, grudgingly following his mother's orders. "FINALLY! Now eat and go! Also… it wouldn't hurt to dress up a little more, you need to look your best when meeting everyone." She glared at her son with a critical eye, shaking her head at the simple blue jeans and loose white teeshirt, wishing he'd put more effort into the outfit. Still with unfocused eyes and a lazy voice Gohan responded, "Oh, it doesn't matter today, I won't even be at the high school, so I'm not meeting anyone my age and I'd rather take that long of a test in comfort. Don't worry mom, I'll be okay."

ChiChi stayed there for a second and let out a defeated sigh, "Sure, sure, I'm going to go wake Goten up, finish eating then get going!" Instead of responding, he simply stuffed his face, inhaling the entire plate with inhuman speed before drinking a cup of orange juice and repeating the process until he was full. Fully awake now, he jumped up, grabbed his backpack and rushed over towards the door. "Alright guys, I'm headed out now, see you when I'm done!"

With that, Gohan promptly closed the door behind him and jogged out of the house, turning around to wave to his brother and mother who were standing in the window. He gave a reassuring smile and leapt in the air, calling forth his ki to carry him to high school.

 _Wow.. this is really crazy, nerve-wracking almost. For the past few years I've done nothing but train and study, now I have to go to high school? It seems like such a mundane thing to do… but whatever keeps mom happy. It really would be nice to meet some people too, maybe I'll run into someone else transferring? Oh well.. better go Super and to that apartment Bulma showed me then I can run to the school. I have… 15 minutes? Perfect._

In a brilliant flash of light, Gohan landed on the roof of his new apartment, which was hidden from view from pedestrians, and jumped down the backside of the building and returned to his normal state.

 _14 minutes left… hmm. From here, it'd take a normal person 10 or so minutes to walk, but I want to be a little early, so a light, human paced, jog sounds good._

Nodding to himself in silent agreement, the tailed demi bounded off, arriving at the school's side office for transfers in a little over five minutes. Taking a deep breath and ignoring the slight knot in his stomach, Gohan opened the door and strolled in the door where he was greeted by a cheery looking man with gray hair and large belly in front.

"Hi there, I'm Mr. Zan, I'm guessing you're… Gohan? The new transfer student, correct?" The man flashed a smile and spoke in a kind tone, which put the younger of the two at ease.

"Yes sir! I'm here to take my entrance exams."

"Perfect, you can use this room back here"—He pointed over his shoulder to a small open room—"and you're scheduled to start just a few minutes from now, thank you for being on time, you won't believe how rare that is nowadays. So, if you'd just come back here and seat yourself to any chair you'd like, I can give out the test. If you need to use the restroom or anything of the sort, its over there." The man talked quickly and wasted no time in administering the test, giving Gohan almost no time to answer the man, or to create any real conversation. Once he handed out the test, the man spoke once more, "Ok, here you go. There's four sections that you'll have an hour and a half to complete apiece. After the first two, there will be an intermission for lunch and after the second two, you're free to go home and do as you wish. Good luck Mr. Son and your time starts… now." With that, the man sat down in the head desk and buried his face behind the newspaper, leaving Gohan with a questioning look.

 _What… the hell was that? I don't know if he was nice or didn't give a shit about any of this. Anyways, I better get started. What's the first section… Reading and Writing? Oh, easy, I've always loved books and I can't wait to see how they test it in high school._

Gohan furrowed his brow and glared intently at the paper, a slight smirk setting in on his face. In one hand, he held a pencil and in the other, an eraser. Setting in, he began to scribble answers on the paper and after about thirty minutes or so, he frowned and sat back in the chair.

 _There… I'm pretty much done but that was kind of… lackluster? I knew it wasn't going to be that tough but still. I mean I knew most of that vocabulary when I was like 10 and I'm pretty sure that syntax was meant for middle schoolers. I'm glad I know I did good, but I really do hope the next part is a little more tough or this'll be boring._

Opting to check over his answers once more, Gohan still only used up 45 minutes of the allotted 90. Sighing, he started in on the second section, math.

 _Oh, this should be fun, can't wait to see what everyone here is learning. Math and science are my specialty, so I shouldn't expect much, but it's still interesting to see the norm. Who knows, maybe there'll be something difficult?_

So the teen again focused himself upon the test and started filling it in, rarely even bothering to look at his calculator. 20 minutes later, Gohan let out a defeated sigh, let down by the ease of the questions.

 _Ok, I might have been expecting a little much… but that was ridiculously easy. Come on, finding the area of 3D shapes is little more than basic geometry and I don't think they even went in to calculous. No derivatives or even arcsine. It's going to suck to be back to this… I really can't wait to get back in the lab… Guess I better take a second glance and make sure I didn't overlook anything…_

 _Aaannnd nope. All there and done. Wonder if I should ask for the next two tests and just finish before lunch? I could get some training done too…_

"Umm, excuse me sir? I'm finished with the first two parts, may I have the other two?"

Barely taking notice, the man simply grunted and nodded, setting the other two sections on the front of his desk before disappearing behind the newspaper once more. Gohan retrieved the papers and sat back in his desk before focusing on the task at hand.

 _Okay… so he really doesn't care, at all. Welcome to public schooling I guess? Oh well, might as well get started on.. History? Greeeaaaat. I haven't done this stuff in a while, never really cared much for it, so it could be challenging, especially if they ask for dates._

This time 45 minutes passed before Gohan stretched back in his chair, done with the set of questions and took another 15 to review the answers he'd given.

 _Great, no specific dates, just time periods and it was all really… generalized. Why bother even leaning it? Anyways, better get started with science now, that'll be a joke. What's the first question.. difference between ionic and covalent bonds? Really?_

15 minutes passed and Gohan put down his pencil before turning through the pages again, ensuring there wasn't a single mistake. Satisfied with himself and feeling hungry, he walked up to the professor and gave him all four sections of the test. "Ok sir, I'm all finished, is there anything else?"

The man looked up again from his paper and raised an eyebrow, "Oh done already, eh? You must be a smart one, that'll be good. But as promised, you're free to do as you wish for the rest of the day, come back here before school tomorrow and I'll have your scores along with class schedule. Do enjoy yourself and I'll talk to you tomorrow Mr. Son." And with that, the older man focused his attention on grading the test. So, Gohan walked out and decided to walk back to his apartment, eager for food. He'd only ever seen the outside so might as well go check it out. Plus it was lunch time, so he might run into some kids going off campus.

It wasn't long until his suspicions were confirmed and he ran into a group of three larger guys, Gohan had to guess they were seniors that surrounded a smaller girl who looked to be about a freshman or sophomore. The situation looked a little out of place for the demi, so he listened, using his inhuman sense of hearing to pick up what they were talking about before coming up on the group.

"…I'm a little short on money today, help me out?"

"But.. I did yesterday and I really don't have much anymore, just enough for half a meal.."

"Perfect! I need all the food I can get, don't worry, it's doing you a favor, I'm helping you with your diet."

"But…"

 _Alright, that's enough. I didn't train my entire life and damn near die, more than once, just so people can do this. Why can't they just be thankful to be alive? I really shouldn't fight them though and I've got enough money so I better try and handle it peacefully._

Gohan strode up to the four of them, standing eye to eye with two of them while the other boy was slightly taller and the girl much shorter. Clearing his throat to make himself heard, he used a strong, authoritative voice and said, "What's up guys?"

He was quickly met with a harsh, "Who the hell are you?"

"Gohan, I'm transferring here tomorrow. Now this looks hardly consensual, so it'd be bad if anyone saw what's happening, what do you guys even want? I heard something about money?"

"Wow, you know what? Gohan sounds an awful lot like fuck off, now leave before you get hurt." The poor idiotic human flexed threateningly and advanced slightly towards the sleeved Gohan who was attempting to hide his physique.

"Clever, clever, you just need lunch money right? Well I have some extra zeni, so I'll cover you for today"—Gohan reached into his wallet, pulling out enough for lunch and extended his hand towards the boy who had spoke to him earlier—"Now I think me and her are leaving, see ya tomorrow." And with that, he took the girl's hand and walked off, leaving the three who were now cracking up at what just happened.

"Hah, okay, thanks there kid, I'll be seeing ya."

Then they parted ways, Gohan still holding the girls hand walked at a brisk pace, barely hiding his obvious annoyance. "What assholes, I mean really. What the hell do they think they're doing?"

"Uh.. um.. excuse me, that sorta hurts.."

Gohan looked back in surprise and quickly let go of the girls hand, "Oh! Yeah, sorry about that, I'm Gohan and I'm transferring here starting tomorrow, sorry to drag you off like that."

She widened her eyes and shook her head quickly before continuing on in a nervous voice, "Oh! No, I should be thanking you, I'm Skyler, a sophomore here. Those three like to pick on anyone who isn't a part of their group, so thank you so much for helping me out! But… I am really sorry. Because of me, you're already on their bad side.." as she finished speaking, she studied her elder intently, soaking in every detail, and her eyes stayed on the large scar on Gohan's forehead for a moment. He could tell she wanted to ask, but thankfully, she had better manners than that.

Gohan just laughed and in a kind voice reassured the younger girl, "Hey, don't worry about that. I _really_ don't get along with people like that, so I would've ended up on their bad side anyway. Not like it matters, they're not so tough, but shouldn't you get back to school? Or lunch?"

"OH! Yeah, I've got some waiting for me, I better get going! Thank you so much again Gohan, I'll see you around school!" And with that, she jogged off, with a bounce in her step.

 _She seemed nice enough… but wow I felt bad for her. Glad they ran off without a fight, that could've gotten real awkward. But damnit it would've felt so nice to launch that cocky bastard. Maybe this'll be tougher than I thought. Trainings going to be a nice stress reliever, hah sorry Vegeta._

Smiling to himself, Gohan strode off towards his apartment, half drooling over the food he was about to eat. In fact, he was so focused on food that he didn't even notice the accusing glare shot from two brilliant sapphire eyes.

A short walk later, Gohan took walked up the steps to his new part time home, unlocked the door, and walked in. The place wasn't too big or too small, there was a decent sized living room with a sofa, a couple chairs, and a tv and a small kitchen with all the necessities, a single bedroom with a small closet and bed and a bathroom. It wasn't anything special, but that's probably why he liked it so much, it reminded him of home, nothing was flashy and the room was full of neutral colors, giving off a comfortable homey vibe.

Not wasting any more time than necessary looking around, Gohan nearly sprinted to the kitchen and reached for a cupboard to grab some food, but was met by a note taped to the wood that read

" _Hey there kid, hope you're enjoying the new home away from home, its nothing too special, but its close to the school and out of the way. Inside the pantry is a few hundred capsules, each filled with a meal big enough for a Saiyan. They're good until the end of your school year, so enjoy! Think of it as a going to school present or something like that. Anyways, good luck with high school, but I'm sure everyone will just adore you._

 _Have fun Gohan,_

 _Love, Bulma"_

Perhaps a little more excited than he should be, Gohan opened up the door, revealing a huge group of little pill shaped storage containers, they were even labeled by what was inside. He selected a lunch of sandwiches, fruit, vegetables, and other little snacks and deserts.

Half an hour or so later the capsule's contents were completely gone and Gohan was in a slightly better mood, still eager to train, so he made the transformation and changed into a gi, before locking up the door and jumping out the back window. He floated for a second to close it and then in another flash of light, took off in a blur, arriving at capsule corp a few minutes later.

 _Ahhh this'll be good, time to train._

 ** _Alrighty, short, quick chapter as I have some irl stuff happening for the next few days. I wanted to get this out sooner rather than later. I'll start working on the next chap right after work today! Sorry it's so short, but the last couple have been pretty long and I wanted to have a bit of time to get the first day of high school just right, since it's something I've been looking forward to for a while._**

 ** _Anyways, thanks for reading and reviewing and all that, I'll have the next part up soon, so hope you enjoy and talk to you all next time! :)_**


	8. Homeroom

**_A/N Well, I managed to get some time to make a part! So I hope you enjoy, it's part of day one for Gohan at high school! Please enjoy and all that and let me know what you think :)_**

 ** _Replies_**

 ** _Drama Llama-Sama- I gotchu dude :)_**

 ** _Talimancer-…. :3_**

 ** _Pr0dz- Yeahh! Badass Gohan FTW!_**

 _Early The Next Morning, Gohan's First Day At OSH_

" _Goodbye son…" Goku's sad, smiling face was the only thing in the war torn kid's field of vision before it disappeared and the weight of the situation came crashing down on him. Soon later, the green bug reformed, back and stronger than ever, "Hah, idiot boy, I'd have been dead a little while ago, but now… Now, YOU'LL ALL DIE! Ka-me-ha-meeee-HAAA!"_

 _"No, damnit no! CELL! Ka-me-ha-meeee-HAAAA!" The familiar beam struggle collided once more, casting the entire area in an oppressive blue light. The two fought against each other, desperately needing more power. Eventually, Gohan's beam began to push back Cells, slowly, inch by painstaking inch until he heard a familiar scream. The final sound Lime made before Broly ended her existence._

 _Fear, cold, mind numbing fear took over the younger boy's mind and dashed his focus. The battle was even once more, neither side gaining anything until "Kakaaaarooooot. KAKAROTT!"_

 _A massive, giant of a man appeared beside the grotesque insect locked in battle. The larger of the two smiled evilly, thoroughly enjoying causing so much pain and despair and then proceeded to add his signature ki blast to the struggle._

 _"No.. This, but how? No, wait no… HAAAAAA"—The young, broken warrior put every single ounce of himself into this final push, seeking to somehow overpower the two, but it simply wasn't enough. The light of his death began to advance upon him, slowly at first, then quicker and quicker until Gohan could feel his skin begin to singe from the heat—"GAAAH…"_

"GRAAHHH!" Gohan's eyes snapped open and he sprang up in a cold sweat, his brother giggling madly in a heap, below a large indent on the wall.

"Hahaha, got me good brother, I thought you were sleeping! Momma says breakfasts ready though, so hurry before I eat it all!" With that, the child bounced up and bounded down the stairs in a blur, still laughing to himself, amazed at just how awesome his big brother was.

 _That same fucking dream again, eh? Been a while since the last time I've had it. Maybe its from the nerves of starting school.. I dunno. Just glad I didn't hurt Goten with that, little kid's tough as hell. Better go get some food or it really will all be gone.—_ Gohan took a look around his room, a touch of sadness in his features— _I really won't be seeing much of here anymore…wish I could stay, but it'd just be stupid to fly back and forth every day, someone would be bound to catch me. Weekends and holidays are pretty much it… Crazy._

Shaking his head, the eldest Son made his way down to breakfast where he ate his fill before showering up and putting on the one outfit he had left at home, a nice pair of blue jeans, white long sleeved undershirt, and a simple black button up short sleeve tee. Simple, yet effective. Satisfied he was ready, Gohan made his way down to say goodbye to the family he so loved. As expected, they were standing at the door. ChiChi held a teary eyed Goten in one arm and a homemade lunch in the other, also smiling through watery eyes.

"Guys.. It's not like I'm leaving forever. I'll be back on the weekends, so don't worry. We all know I'll be fine and I know you guys will be, right?"—The mother and son both smiled slightly and nodded.—"Now Goten, I need you to listen carefully, ok? This is reaaaaally important"—Immediatley, the younger Son stopped crying and adopted an extremely serious face and nodded in a business like fashion, much to the amusement of their mother—"Good. Ok, so now that I'm going to be gone most of the time, you're going to have to be the man of the house. I've trained you to be big and strong, so you've gotta protect mom from everything, ok? This mission is the most important one of your life and you're the only one that can do it. I'm trusting you with everything, think you can handle it? It's a looot of responsibility."

Goten kept staring at his brother for a second before jumping down from his mother's arms and standing up as straight as he could, raising his right arm in a military fashion salute, "I can do it brother! Leave it to me!" The two boys locked eyes for a second before Goten broke into a huge grin, with Gohan following shortly after, then the younger ran full force and tackled his brother around the midriff, clinging to him in the tightest embrace the child could muster, probably tight enough to kill most of the Z-Fighters Gohan thought. "Love you brother, have fun at school and come back soon, ok? I'll protect mom, so don't worry!"

ChiChi stepped in and embraced her two children, tears now flowing freely, "Yes, please do come back soon. Make friends, study hard, enjoy yourself, become a man, experience your life as a normal kid and cherish every second of it. Trust me it goes by way too quick, I swear just yesterday you were wearing that silly hat with a dragon ball on it, _sniff_ geez. What's wrong with me? Now get going Gohan or you'll be late!"

Gohan nodded and looked at his family, soaking in every detail, realization setting in that he wouldn't be in the comfort of his own home every day and a pit started forming in the bottom of his stomach. "I love you guys. See you Saturday!"

Not wanting to prolong the goodbye anymore than he had to, Gohan then ran out the door and leapt into the air, amplifying his power to it's golden state before tearing through the sky and towards his new temporary home.

About a minute or so later, the golden warrior landed on his roof and dropped inside through the unlocked window, returning to his base state.

 _Alright, good that wasn't too bad, I think Goten took it relatively well and mom… well did what any good mom would do. Probably should get to school soon, first class starts in… 45 minutes? Perfect, that's enough time to go get my scores and find the first class. Ok Gohan, be yourself and be confident. You've got this._

Gohan checked himself over once more and was satisfied with his look, so he grabbed his backpack and headed out the door, locking it behind him. A short walk later, Gohan arrived at the same building he took his test in and talked to the same man.

"Ah, Mr. Son, I don't know what you did but you seemed to have received perfect scores. Good work, my boy, it'll be great to have you at the school. Here's the papers and here's a map of the school, along with your schedule. Now go see your homeroom teacher, I'm sure you'll be glad to meet him and vice versa. Good luck at school young man!" And with that, the man buried himself in the newspaper he'd been reading minutes before.

"Uh, ah, yes sir, thank you very much!"

 _Hahah that guy's actually starting to grow on me. He doesn't care much and doesn't pry and the way he talks is amusing.. well let's see here. I should go to Mr. Lang's room, which is number 103. Walk in the main entrance and take a left and it should be a couple rooms down from there, easy. Let's see what other classes… hmmm.. all pretty basic names, but they're all AP. That's good, maybe I'll get some challenge in there? But… oh… dear god please no… Mr. Shu? It can't be him… there's no way he'd actually get a teaching job, the dudes a psychopath, doubt he'd actually remember me though. But he teaches science? Well if it really is him, this could be pretty fun, heh._

A half smirk appeared on Gohan's face as he walked to his homeroom, where he saw an elderly man with stark white hair and an equally as white, bushy mustache. He was standing in front of room 103 and appeared to be looking for someone until he finally found Gohan. The man's eyes widened and he hesitated for a moment, seemingly intimidated by the figure before him. The default expression of Gohan was somehow reminiscent of Piccolo's, a serious half scowl that never really left unless he made a conscious effort of it. Though when the two made eye contact, his features changed and the practiced, happy smile illuminated the student's face, putting Mr. Lang at ease.

"Oh, you must be Gohan Son, correct?"—Gohan nodded—"Splendid! Well let me introduce myself, I'm Mr. Lang, your homeroom teacher and also your AP Calc teacher, its a pleasure to meet you and judging by your test scores, you'll do just fine!" The man gave a warm smile that seemed to radiate genuine kindness and a passion for his job. Being a fighter all his life, Gohan gained and uncanny talent for reading people's body language and he quickly picked up on this and decided that he'd gotten lucky with this man as his homeroom teacher.

"Yessir, I'm glad to meet you too and hope to learn a lot in your class!"— _Even though I've done math through Calc 3, but eh whatever._ —

"Alright, well I make it a point to know all of my students in class on a personal level, I believe it helps with questions while I'm teaching, so I'll tell you a bit about myself then you can do the same? Here, I think some students are coming in so let's go to my office where we can talk freely, sound good?"—Gohan nodded again and followed Mr. Lang across the hall to a smaller room with four teacher's desks—"I share this room with three other teachers, but you'll meet them later. For now, I'm Henry Lang, I was born a number of years ago in West City and was raised there until I moved here. I came here shortly after high school and aimed to be a school teacher, so I attended college and achieved my masters in mathematics. I jumped around from job to job, raising hell everywhere I went and eventually landed here!"

A short pause followed, signaling Gohan's turn to talk.

"Sounds like you'd have some great stories to tell Mr. Lang, hah."— _Hell, so do I, but who would actually believe them?—_ "Well I was born in a small village in the mountains where I was raised until I came here. I was homeschooled by my mother up until this last year and studied under a martial arts teacher, learning how to defend myself and survive off the land. My mother decided it'd be best for me to meet some kids my age, so she moved me in an apartment in town and now I'm here!"

Gohan thought his story was perfect and there were no holes in it, but little did he know, Mr. Lang was also extremely adept at reading people and could tell that he was hiding something, but chose not to pursue the subject and instead decided to simply nod, deep in thought.

"Well, if you're living alone, you'd best be careful, lock up every night and keep a phone close at hand. Crime in this city is really going up and while you're probably extremely proficient in hand to hand combat, I wouldn't trust that against weapons. Just be sure to be careful, okay?"

"Yes, that's what I've heard, sir. I'll be sure to do that, thanks for the concern."

The two chatted on for a bit until it became nearly time for class to start, Gohan liked the man's company and how he actually cared for him, but wasn't overbearing about it, truly a hard mix to find he thought.

"Alright Gohan, I've gotta go settle down the class. You wait here until the bell rings then wait outside the door for me to call you in, sound good?"

"Yessir!"

Nodding for confirmation, Mr. Lang turned and walked out of the room. Soon enough, the bell rang and then Gohan followed, waiting like he was told until the door opened, a slight chill running through his stomach. Mr. Lang had told most of the story that Gohan originally told, which he was grateful for, since it would save him having to repeat the story, but Mr. Lang then added that he'd received perfect test scores, which didn't amuse him, since the demi figured it'd sort of paint a target on his back.

His stomach tensed up, ever so slightly. Because of the nerves, Gohan fell into old fighting habits, he began monitoring ki and calculating every possible outcome of the next few seconds. He adopted a serious, warrior like demeanor unknowingly and swaggered on into the room.

 _Wow, why am I nervous? Well, that's a dumb question, but still. I've never felt like this, even when I was fighting! And—Woah! There's a comparatively huge power level in there! Whose is that?! Everyone around here is a 2 or 3, maybe a 5 at max, but this one is like 20! That's insane, I wonder who it is… Ah that's beside the point for now, I'm here to make friends and try to learn, confidence, Gohan._

"Alright, come introduce yourself, my boy!"

He walked in the room, concentrating on what he was going to say to the class and forgot to smile, so he wore the same expression as always. He heard a gasp or two from some unnamed students and whispering everywhere, but how could they know that Gohan could hear every word. He heard people talking about his scar, how he looked like a thug or how he was cute, everything. It amazed Gohan at just how bizarre the conversations of these people were. He cleared his throat and the whispering stopped. The battle-hardened warrior was about to speak before he realized he wasn't smiling, so he must have looked intimidating.

Mentally kicking himself, he flashed the trademark Son grin to its fullest extent, and in the deep, masculine voice he now possessed rumbled out, "Hi everyone, I'm Gohan Son. I'm starting school here today and hope we can all get along! I don't really know my way around here, so if I look like a lost little kid, I'd really appreciate the help, thanks in advance, heh."—Gohan let out a nervous laugh and scratched an imaginary itch on the back of his head, and to his relief, the class laughed along with him.—"Well, I hope we all have a great year and it's great to meet you all!"

"Alright Gohan, you may take a seat anywhere you'd like."

He scanned the room quickly, taking note of an open seat in the far back left, alone, isolated from most people, and another in the middle of class, next to an attractive blonde with a mature figure. However, this scan served two purposes. In the fraction of a second it took him to find a seat, he also pinpointed the location of the ki he'd been searching for to a black haired girl glaring at him through intense, deep blue eyes that reminded Gohan of cerulean liquid crystal. He started and was surprised, confused for a second as to what was happening but that same blonde voiced up, "Hey there cutie, you can come sit over here!"

"Oh, uh yeah! Thanks!" Distracted, Gohan studied the girl dressed in a baggy white tee-shirt and black yoga pants.

 _What the…hell!? I was expecting some Hercule Satan looking guy, not this… girl? She's doesn't even look that much taller than mom, though looking at her, she does seem really fit. Extremely toned, well maintained body. She definitely works out… but that much stronger than everyone? No way, she must have stumbled on some form of ki control or something. But her eyes… damn they're so.. passionate? But they're hiding something, like a sad little glint or something. Interesting. Superficially though, she's a goddamn beauty. I really think Dende may have helped me out here, heh thanks buddy._

 ** _Videl's POV_**

Mr. Lang opened up the door and a… huge man walked into the room, who looked about twenty. Videl, along with the rest of the class couldn't hide her shock, they'd all been expecting some scrawny little kid, not _this_. He looked like a damn Spartan from that movie her father made her watch a few years ago, serious, even a little dangerous, the face of a warrior. Then she saw the scar on his forehead and almost gasped and she also took notice of his dark, onyx eyes.

 _What the hell is this!? He looks like he's from the military, not some little village out in the sticks. The way he carries himself, never slouching, muscles always slightly tense, ready for something, anything to happen. He's experienced. But that scar… The cut must have been HUGE! There's probably one hell of a story behind that, but it really does add to that whole badass warrior look he has going on. And his eyes, they look so lost and forlorn, forsaking pretty much everything around them. He's definitely seen some shit… He kinda reminds me of myself… And holy hell that's the guy from yesterday! He helped out that girl in trouble, so he can't be all bad, plus he didn't even throw a punch… This guy's different. Interesting._

But everything changed when he smiled. The traces of sorrow in his eyes were gone and his features softened so much that if she hadn't seen him a second ago, she would think he was the most giddy kid in the world. It was… breathtaking. He went from rugged badass to a hot innocent fun-lover in less than a second. Secretly, Videl liked the first side more, but she quickly caught herself and shook her head. As if on cue, her best friend whispered, "Oooooooh, he's cute isn't he!?"

"Shut up Erasa.."

Then his voice cut through the sound with confidence and clarity. An even sound that didn't waver, but so deep it could've been from a smoker in his 30's, but he even went so far as to attempt a joke, that was surprisingly funny. It was hard to imagine him as a scared little kid, so the comparison was comical.

 _Now he looks and acts like this? Like nothing happened? If I hadn't seen it, I wouldn't think this guy could even be serious, but I know for a fact he is. The dude puts on a perfect mask… a lot like me I guess. He's had practice at hiding what he thinks, but what the hell did he have to go through for him to get like that? It's so interesting, but it pisses me off not knowing! Argh that ass should stop being so mysterious, I bet he's doing it on purpose._

Now in a sour mood, Videl glared at the new student, accusing him of different crimes in her mind, until his eyes met hers. The girl's stomach lurched slightly, pissing her off more, so she glared harder before looking away.

 _Hmph. I really don't know what it is, but something's off about that guy… He—_

"Hey there cutie, you can come sit over here!

 _Ack! Erasa! What the hell are you doing!?_

Videl looked around and noticed the new kid was still looking at her. She pretended not to notice and instead noticed the mass amounts of jealous stares from the females and the evil, envious glares from the males. The tension had already risen in the room a few notches.

 _Yeah, this Gohan guy really does mean trouble. I'll keep an eye on him, he HAS to be hiding something and I'm gonna find out what._

 **Gohan's POV**

The girl who called Gohan over cleared some space for Gohan's books, and introduced herself. Staring him right in the eye, she naturally fell into a comfortable smile, "Hey there Gohan, I'm Erasa and this is Videl, and that guy over there"—she pointed to a guy with long blonde hair, wearing a cutoff shirt and athletic shorts—"is Sharpener. Nice to meet you!"

 _Hmm… she seems nice enough, innocent, ignorant of the pain of real life, but a genuinely caring person. I think I could get along with her well enough. The other girl, Videl, she's interesting. And as for that guy… he looks like he has an ego, but has one of the highest power levels in the class. He works out his arms too much though, too bulky, he must work out for self satisfaction and looks, that or he just doesn't know much about it. The three seem pretty close though, so maybe it'd be a good thing to start and get a small group of friends. Gain some trust and have some people to talk to. Yeah, this might be good._

Deciding this was the best course of action, Gohan returned the smile with one of his own, equally as charming, "Yeah good to meet you guys and Erasa, thanks for the seat. It was sorta awkward there deciding." Again, he scratched that imaginary itch, somewhat of a forced nervous habit. She let out a little giggle and just nodded, saying nothing because Mr. Lang started talking.

"Alright class, since there's a new student today, I'll allow some talking and the homeroom today and its just a study hall. Work on any homework you need and enjoy the hour!"

"You heard the man Gohan, tell us a little about yourself! Teach told us that you lived in a small village far away, and were homeschooled until now, so we're curious."

Gohan noticed Videl try to stay uninterested, but she moved closer, trying to catch every word, but still appearing busy in her notebook, Sharpner on the other hand, was nodding, pulling up a chair on the left side of Gohan and announced that he to was interested, so he'd listen.

With a sigh, the demi nodded, defeated, "Sure, sure, but then you guys too okay? This is the short version, so yeah. Alright, I was born in the mountains a few hundred miles away and was raised there to learn how to live off the land and survive. We lived simply and every day was an adventure, but my mother believed that education was really important, so she started homeschooling me. We lived like that for a while until my mom wanted me to get a degree, so that I could get a job doing something I wanted in the science field. So, she looked around and found a small apartment here and moved me out. That's pretty much it!"

The two blonde's nodded and Videl simply kept writing and thought to herself, _He must be hiding something. He's got to know we want stories about his scar, personal life, everything, not just this. Hmmm…_

However, Erasa just nodded and studied Gohan with her bright blue eyes, "Well that certainly sounds fun, so you know how to take care of yourself then, huh? That's cute"—She let out another giggle before continuing on—"Well I was born and raised here, not much to tell. Me and Videl have been friends since kindergarten and we've went to the same schools ever since. Pretty ordinary life compared to yours! Your turn Sharpie."

 _Ordinary life compared to mine? Hah, you really have no idea._

"Oh, me? Hi man, how're you doing? I'm pretty much the same as her, grew up here and everything, except I'm a martial artist! I'd say the best in the school."—Videl looked up from her book and shot him an angry glare—"…Aside from Videl that is, heh. I'm even studying under her father as of two years ago, so if anyone ever bothers you, let me know." He flexed, satisfied that he'd made himself look as badass as possible.

Gohan then raised an eyebrow, "Father…?"

The two blondes looked at each other with disbelieving expressions before Sharpner succumbed to a laughing fit and Erasa shook her head, explaining, "Videl here is the daughter of Mr. Satan himself!" VIdel looked up at Gohan to see how he'd react to the news, seeking to judge him based on his response. To her great surprise, a dark shadow crossed his face, and for a second she was actually a little bit frightened, but the other two didn't notice. Just as quickly as it'd came, it went, replaced by another grin, "Wow Videl, that must be pretty cool, huh? And Sharpner said you're tough, probably because of training with him!… Isn't it a bit… exhausting though?"

Videl was actually a bit surprised by this as well, so she turned to him, deciding to give him an answer. _Well, maybe he isn't that bad of a person, but still. Something's really… off about him. Argh whatever._ She sighed and nodded, "Yeah, Dad can really be overbearing and there's always people and press everywhere.. Its good I love fighting though, because if I didn't he'd probably have an aneurism. But, its not all bad, and life's pretty good as long as you have some idiots"—she signaled to the two blondes—"who'll enjoy it with ya."

Erasa pushed playfully, "Heeey, don't lump me in with that muscle head, I think I'm a bit more dignified that that.."

"Assholes…" Sharpner rolled his eyes and crossed his arms.

A brief pause followed and then the three burst into laughter, truly enjoying each other's company.

 _These guys really do get along pretty well… Not such a bad group, I guess._

Erasa recovered from her fit of laughter and finally said, "Oh! Gohan, since you did so well on your tests and everything, you'll be taking all the AP classes, right?"—He nodded—"Then you'll have the same schedule as Videl! Homeroom, math, history, English, lunch, Science, and then PE right?"—again, Gohan nodded, surprised that she knew all of this—"Perfect! You and Videl have the same schedule then. I'll have history and english with you two, but other than that, me and Sharpie are in the normal classes. You'll show him around, right?"

Videl looked up again from her books and as she was actually studying now, became annoyed, "Sure, sure, just try not to get lost or get in my way, okay?" Without waiting for a reply, she turned back to her studies.

"Yeah, no problem, thanks.."

Then Sharpner spoke up, "Eh, don't worry nerd, she just has a bit of a quick temper, I'm sure she likes ya under all that spunk, ahah. The four of us also have PE together, which is a two hour class to end the day, since Mr. Satan thinks its important for us to stay fit. Cool, right?"

"Yeah, for sure, that's awesome he cares enough to want everyone to be in shape like that."

So the three of them talked for the rest of the hour, with Videl studying the whole time and Gohan started to fit in without realizing it. As far as he was concerned, day one was starting off a massive success, but there's no way he could've known just how idiotic and malintented teenagers could be..

 _Yeah, I think this group was a stroke of luck… Thanks again Dende, heh. But… Mr. Satan, huh? That name brings up some bad memories, I almost lost it a bit there, I've gotta be careful. But let's just see what the rest of the day brings, there's a lot more people here and I wanna meet as many as possible. Erasa looks like she's got a ton of friends, and Sharpner looks to have a pretty big group as well, the only odd one is Videl… Hmm. This could be pretty interesting._

 **A/N and there you have it! Day one of high school started off better than he was expecting and what's this? No gold fighter?! Ohohoho, I love being original. Thanks for reading and reviewing and everything! I hope to see everyone in the next part, stay classy and all that. :3**


	9. New Friends Old Aquantinces

**A/N Alrighty all, time for an update! Good news is, I like the direction I took the story, bad news is that… It'll be the last update for a little while. I'm moving out tomorrow into the frat house I'll be living in at college. That means I'll be busy 24/7 for the next few weeks, with moving, house activities, classes, and getting all settled in general. That being said, this is in NO way, shape, or form dead, at all, in fact, I'm really itching to write more, but as of now, it is 3:00 in the morning, the day before I leave… so yeah time is something I don't have too much of, heh. But I really am sorry for this, I love the story and love writing it and am so thankful for the support I've received so far, all I ask is that you all bear with me for a bit while I go and experience college life for a little ^.^**

 **Okay! Enough for the heavy topics and on to the replies!**

 **Drama Llama-Sama- Ah, yeah Mr. Shu. Curious as to what you think about him in this chap :3 Things are happening in the school and thanks for picking up the Piccolo thing, I was actually really pleased with that part! Though, keep in mind, I don't think Videl is a bad person, just more head strong and extremely insensitive, heh. Interested to see what you think about how things play out between them! :)**

 **Talimancer- Wait no longer, my good sir! Also, thank you!**

 **bumike99- Well I *hope* you've found the right place :3 Thank you and I hope you enjoy what's to come!**

 **nicolezhao16- Glad you're enjoying it! To answer the question, it would only make sense (at least in my fic) for Gohan to be stronger than Goku. He was born with a massive amount of latent power, light years ahead of his father's. The only reason Goku is stronger canonically is because Gohan simply didn't train, like at all, also, plot and Goku's MC, so that factors in as well. TL;DR, Gohan trains and uses massive potential, making him stronger than his father.**

 **Io's Torment- Glad you enjoy it, hope you continue to with the next update! :3**

 **Reign Of Sorrow- Damn right! That much power must be hard to control, especially judging by how much of a personality change Gohan got after going SS2 in the anime. Also, glad you're enjoying and here's more Wings! (You have to provide your own sauce, though, otherwise its extra)**

 **Ok, well, nothing much more for me to say here, so hope you enjoy the chapter! (also, terribly sorry for any grammar/spelling errors, it is really late and I wanted to get a part up, don't riot if there are a few please :3)**

The bell rang, signaling that it was time for the group to go their separate ways to their respective classes. Videl glanced over at Gohan, grabbed her things and quickly walked off towards the door, without another look. Not wanting to be left behind, he did the same, waving apologetically to the other two he'd been talking to.

 _Well… it could be too early to really call them friends, but its a good start I think. It'd make mom happy at least._

As they walked, Gohan couldn't help but feel overwhelmed by the sheer amount of people in the halls, the constant dull roar of conversation was causing a dull ache at the base of his skull and the oppressive scent of too much cologne only helped to further the ache. Without realizing it, he adopted the familiar scowl and began to become annoyed. It was such a huge shock from the quiet life he was used to and it was all he could do to keep from shooting off through the ceiling and off to home. He looked down at Videl who also wore a similar scowl, looking to be similarly annoyed, but then she looked back up at him. The two shared a brief second of eye contact before she rolled her eyes and sighed.

"Look, this takes some getting used to"—she waved her arm towards the crowd—"But you'll be fine. You learn to tune out the noise, still annoying as ever though."

 _Wow… she read me pretty well there. Maybe she can be nice?_

"Yeah.. it's a bit overwhelming, but thanks."

She just nodded and dipped into one of the rooms on the right side of the hall, Gohan looked up and the sign above the door read, "AP Math". He didn't really know what to expect from the class, but judging by the test, Gohan didn't feel too pressured by the course content, but more so by the people in the class with him. Videl was the first to walk back to her seat, in the back right of the class, away from most of the people in the room. For a second, the demi hesitated, wondering if he should follow, or if she even wanted him to, or if it would be better to sit by someone else, but what if that seat was taken, or if it'd be creepy to sit by a random person? It could cause confrontation and he wanted to be liked, but wasn't really too adept at interacting in this setting. The confusion must've shown on his face, because Videl just shook her head and actually let out a small smile, which was really quite attractive on her, or so Gohan thought. She motioned for him to sit by her and again started conversation with him.

"Gohan, just follow me around for the day and sit by me in class. It's weird if you just sit by someone, so just stick to those you already know. If you really want to, it's not that hard to be popular here at all, everyone's an idiot."

He let out a snort of laughter, "Well, thanks, didn't really know what I was supposed to do there, but why do you say that?"

She looked at him for a second, as if deciding whether or not it was worth it to explain anything to him, "Well, I guess since you're new to high school, you don't really know about how it works. See, everyone here has their little clicks, like people who enjoy the same things sort of group together and pretty much associate themselves with that group exclusively."—Gohan didn't think this sounded too weird, it made sense for like-minded people to hang out. All of his friends were fighters in one way or another and thought in a similar way, well all except his closest friend—"It doesn't sound all that bad right?"

Gohan nodded in agreement and she continued, "Well on paper, it makes sense, but in practice it is ridiculous. Everyone here, especially the _popular_ click feels like they have something to prove and will do some pretty stupid shit to show off. They're basically just glorified bullies. They're so cocky to the point where you'd think they could take a bullet and walk away, idiots."

Again Gohan nodded, starting to understand how this system could have huge flaws, one group could be the most powerful one and try to assert dominance, or there could a few different groups ganging up on smaller ones, bullying the weak. It really was common throughout history to do that, so it wasn't hard to grasp the social hierarchy here.

Videl continued, looking slightly uncomfortable about talking for so long, "So naturally, people all want to be a part of the bigger groups, so that they don't get picked on, right? Then they put on some fake personality to fit in and before long, they're doing the same shit that the original dickheads were. It's pathetic, really, they tried to convince me to date one of the football players my freshman year, just because of my father. They really would've liked to hold that over everyone's head, but I realized it soon enough and shut them down, so they made it their mission to try to bully me. Not that they can do any physical harm. But now, I'm a bit of an outcast, since they're all pretty much the same, so if you hang with me, you might get lumped into that group. Or you could go and hangout with them, I don't really care which."

She finished speaking and turned to her books, getting out everything she'd need for the class.

 _She really does have a hell of a personality, eh? Quite a mouth too, she really doesn't aim to be too ladylike, kinda reminds me of mom, hah. But why would she be an outcast? She's attractive and has enough of a personality to find some group to fit in with, but she seems to be happy away from everyone? Why would that group try to alienate someone like her, that really makes no sense, maybe there's more to it than that? Anyways, she sorta reminds me of myself, like she doesn't want contact with people for some reason? Maybe I'm reading too much into it…_

After a brief pause, Gohan responded while getting out his own books, "Well that's a lot to take in, but for now, I'll stick with you, if that's not too much trouble. I really am grateful to you guys for everything, I think I lucked out a bit. Plus I really… really hate it when people try and bully someone weaker than them. It really pisses me off." Gohan thought back to Frieza and to Cell, how they toyed with lives that were weaker than them, torturing and killing. He'd witnessed attempted genocide at an age most kids were learning how to ride a bike and that affected him in a huge way. To this day, thinking about those two made his blood boil, he wished to kill them over and over, as painfully as possible, to try and get in some reconciliation for those who couldn't.

Videl noticed the change in Gohan's demeanor, and was about to question him about it, but was interrupted by the teacher coming in to start class. The material was simplistic review for Gohan and Videl seemed to have a good grasp on all the concepts, never really answering any question wrong. The two found it easy to communicate over homework, asking questions about certain problems, and eventually conversation started flowing easier between them.

 _(Videl's Mind) Gohan, huh? Doesn't seem like a bad guy, maybe a little naive, but if that's his biggest fault, then maybe that's not so bad. I can't shake the feeling that there's something more though, like he's hiding something. He looks so peaceful and happy, like he doesn't have a care in the world when he's around people but sometimes he… slips up? I dunno, its almost sorta scary, like just a little ago when we were talking about bullies. He looked like someone who wouldn't hesitate to… kill… Like he's seen someone do those things, or maybe he was bullied? Maybe that's how he got those scars, someone bullied him and he moved here because of it? Maybe his dad died protecting him or maybe his dad is the one who did it? Or maybe… Shit. Enough Videl, I'll find out about this sooner or later._

After a while, class ended and the only two that ended up without homework from it were Gohan and Videl. In good spirits because of this, conversation still kept up between them, even if slightly more strained. They walked to their next class, history, where the two met up with Erasa. They made their way in class and sat in the back left corner where an overly energetic 30 something teacher greeted her class.

"Hello class, how are you all!? Today we have a _very_ special guest to start off the semester. That's right, today we have MR. SATAN! We're going to be learning about how he saved the world all those years ago! Okay, we're ready, sir!"

A large man with a goofy afro bounced into the room, "Uh, hi there everyone! Today we're going to watch the Cell Games, commentated by me! You'll learn the truth and hopefully have a good time doing it! Ok teach, play the video and I'll pause it when I need to."

Gohan's eyes widened and his heart rate increased, his face drained of color ad he gripped the chair so hard that the seat compressed and almost snapped.

 _Cell Games? This asshole? The… TRUTH? He better not say one fucking thing about dad.._

The two noticed the change in Gohan, a mixture between terror and rage, unable to keep his emotions in check. Videl simply didn't know what to say and in spite of herself, she had the creeping sensation of fear for some reason, like he could snap at any second and she felt that it wouldn't be pretty if he did. Erasa felt the same, to a certain degree, but didn't have enough knowledge to understand how dangerous it was, so she was the one to question Gohan, "Hey there Gohan… are you okay? Do you feel sick?"

Still distracted, he just nodded, mind still in some far away place, "Yeah, fine.. sorry to worry you."

The two girls shared worried glances, but decided not to press the issue further. Then, the lights turned off and the projection screen turned on, panning to the familiar stage all those years ago. The camera man turned to the small group, with all of Gohan's friends… and father, ready for battle. Then it panned to the freakishly tall humanoid insect that was Cell, smug and confident as ever, with a murderous glint in his eye. Now the camera focused on Mr. Satan, announcing that he was going to fight after his two subordinates.

 _Cell…Cell…Goddamn you. Dad, you look so real, so happy, so.. confident in yourself. Wait, no, that's not quite right, confident in me and look where that got you. Never again though._

A dark shadow crossed Gohan's face, full of self loathing and hatred of someone beyond his years. Try as he might, he couldn't stop himself from feeling this way, it was the first time he'd seen Cell, outside of his nightmares, since the fight. Erasa noticed this and interpreted it as a bad memory from that time, so she decided to drop it, not wanting to overstep the boundaries of someone she wanted to befriend. Videl on the other hand, knew that face better than anyone. It was the face of someone angry enough and competent enough to do something about it, for some reason she felt that he really could go toe to toe with Cell, but that was surely impossible, since no one was stronger than her father in his prime. All she knew for sure is that his pained face was something she had once worn all too often, and she felt for him and wanted nothing more than to help him through it, but knew that it was an internal struggle and the outside world would have little effect.

Whatever the case, the video continued with Cell putting the two out of commission and Hercule stepped up into the ring, spouting off something about being great. They continued on to watch Mr. Satan be fodderized by the freak. The video was then paused and Mr. Satan explained what had just happened.

"You see class, this alien's trickery is what happened. He slicked up the floor so I slipped and then he used my momentum in some weird trick technique and that's why I flew away. It would've been easy to get up and beat him, but my body just wouldn't move. I figured out later that the coward poisoned me before the fight and that would've been the end of me if it weren't for the mystery group who stepped in long enough for me to get the antidote and recover enough to win! The video's edited down to show what had happened and the last part is a reenactment of what happened, since the camera broke there at the end, so enjoy the rest class!"

The video then jumped to Goku locked in combat with Cell, sometimes faster than the camera could keep up, which Mr. Satan credited to the faulty camera due to dust from the wasteland they were fighting in. Then, the 'bomb' was triggered and the arena was now a giant crater, and the two locked in a struggle once again before stopping completely.

Despite his best efforts, Gohan's emotions began escalating the longer the fight drug on. He was subconsciously rooting for his father, while at the same time ashamed at how weak he was at the time. Going back now, he wouldn't have even needed to ascend to annihilate Cell. His nerves rose as the time where he took over came close. It must have showed because the two girls grew even more concerned.

Then finally young Gohan took over and to his surprise, Mr. Satan said nothing, he just watched and eventually Cell began to expand.

Rewatching this was hell to Gohan, his scars all ached and something in his body was telling him to fight, to survive, but above all, something deep inside of him cried out for revenge. To pummel that insect back into the ground, over and over, a bloodlust that would simply could not be sated, driven by a primal desire.

Mr. Satan paused the video before Goku disappeared and in an oddly somber tone addressed the class, "This unnamed man is in no small part responsible for me being here today. He sacrificed himself to take Cell way from the battlefield. The coward was going to blow himself up, with enough explosives to seriously damage the planet and kill me in the process. Let us all take a moment for this brave soul…"—the class bowed their heads and took a moment of silence—"Thank you class. Now I'll play out the rest of the video and we can watch until the end."

Gohan was shocked by the man's change of heart, but gained some respect for him. No doubt that one of the group had a little talk to him, to make him realize what had really happen, but there was more to it than that. The former idiotic cockiness that used to be genuine was now false and he was now more.. subdued.

 _I guess times have been tough for everyone._

Then the video played and the camera zoomed in on Goku's beaming face, happy, peaceful, but tinged with some small bit of sadness. He raised two fingers to his head and mouthed something inaudible before disappearing, and the camera cut to black with the words, "The original film has been damaged beyond repair, please enjoy this reenactment."

A buzzing rang in Gohan's ears and he stared blankly on the screen. Every emotion came back from that day after seeing his father's face and he began to lose control. They were raging around his head, making it impossible to think, enraging him further and further until controlling his power became next to impossible. Ki was coursing throughout his body, and permeating the air, raw power created a small tremor that alarmed the entire class. But Gohan didn't move. His eyes started to take on a tealish tint, and his hair began to lighten. The only thing on his mind was revenge. He felt the strong urge to rip open a dimension to hell, just to find Cell and punish the worthless bug. No longer able to fully control it, Gohan spoke up, "Ah bathroom, don't really feel good."

He got up and walked towards the door, but most everyone's eyes were on the video. The only one, other than his two newfound acquaintances that noticed this was Mr. Satan who stepped toward the door. His eyes locked with Gohan's. Black, human eyes met the glowing teal, unnatural beast like eyes of the half Saiyan. Instantly, Hercule knew and was terrified, turning pale and nodded, before walking back and thinking to himself, " _What the hell was that? They had eyes just like those people from back then… it couldn't be the younger one… could it? But the big green guy said he didn't want fame, so I don't have to worry about being exposed, I should talk to him later though.."_

The second the door closed behind him, Gohan seemingly teleported to the front entrance and exited the door before finding somewhere secluded and took off, towards capsule corp where he finally lost it, ascending straight into the second state.

"That.. BASTARD argh! GODDAMNIT!"

He needed an outlet, he needed to train and eventually found himself in front of the gravity room where he walked in and Vegeta looked at him expectantly, with an expression asking, "well?"

"Cell Games video in history. Need to train."

Understanding completely, Vegeta simply nodded and cranked the gravity back up, and the two sparred for a few minutes. It felt great for Gohan to blow off some steam and Vegeta relished the challenge of an enraged saiyan. The younger of the two finally seemed to calm down a bit, finally seeing clearly again after that little episode. He returned to the base state and staggered a bit as the gravity hit his weakened body.

"Thanks, Vegeta. I do need to get back after washing up a bit though, I'll be over for training soon."

The shorter of the two nodded and resumed training while the other walked out, "Damn kids still tormented by that, huh… Guess something like would be tough even now, especially for a kid with his personality. Kakarot, you've left behind one hell of a mess, you'd better get back soon."

 _Back at school, Videl's POV_

The two watched as the broad back of their new friend walked down the aisle, Erasa turned to talk to Videl, but her eyes were still glued to his form. She could have sworn she'd seen something move under his shirt and that his form had gotten… larger? More muscled? It was hard to tell over his shirts, but something was different.

 _What was that just now, he said he was sick… but it didn't look like that at all. He looked more, angry? Than anything. Cell must have hurt him or his family or something, which I understand completely, but still, it was sorta different from just a bad memory, like it was something personal or a regret or something. But what was really off was what I felt just now.. It was like being in the bottom of an ocean, oppressive and never ending, but what the hell was that? And the feeling left when he did, but why? This is just too weird…_

About half an hour later, her father left and the teacher announced that the rest of the hour could be used for talking and that there would be no homework. Soon after, Gohan returned, now looking normal, as if nothing ever happened. Though she did notice that his smile was partly forced and he did look worn out, but decided to make nothing of it. When he sat down, Erasa was the first to greet him, with her warmest smile, "Hey, feeling better?"

Gohan let out a sigh, "Yeah, thanks. Sorry to worry you guys, I think I ate something bad last night! It was my first night alone and I guess I'm not that great of a cook, haha" He scratched that imaginary itch behind his head again and then the bell rang. When they were all packing up, Erasa came up with a great idea (or so she thought), "Well, since you're a lousy cook and living in your own place, why don't you let me, Videl and Sharpner come over for dinner! I'll cook and we can study! Oh, it'll be so fun, whaddya say?"

 _Erasa! What are you saying, we met him today! But… it wouldn't be so bad, I could learn more about him and he doesn't seem all bad. Plus I feel like I need to help him out for some reason…_

He looked to Erasa first, then Videl, who gave a slight nod and promptly returned to putting her things away.

"Well… Sure! It'll be good to have homemade food, why not. We all have PE together, so let's just figure it out then?"

 _Chemistry Class, Gohan's POV_

After the near fatal incident in History, the rest of the day had went by smoothly. Classes were easy and Gohan was getting along well with the little group. He'd eaten lunch with them and started talking more to Sharpner, who Gohan initially found annoying and sorta.. douchie, but eventually warmed up to him. While he was rough around the edges and had a complex with being 'cool', he was a nice person at heart, and Gohan respected that. After lunch, the only two classes left were Science and Gym.

Like their first class, the group split up by like-hair color and made their way to the hallway.

 _Great… Let's see if this guy is the same one or not…_

Videl led the two inside and sat down on the end of the back right table, with Gohan on her right. While she was by no means a warm person, Videl had lost most of the original coldness she portrayed when they first met, which Gohan was thankful for. It was so much easier to talk to her that way.

"Uh hey, Videl? What have you heard about this guy?"

She looked at him and shook her head, "Honestly, I've heard he's the biggest ass of a teacher in school. There's even rumors that a student that talked back to him one too many times came to school with whip marks on his back, but then again, they're just rumors."

 _Oh… well… shit. Not too far off of what I remember._

"That really doesn't sound.. pleasant? Lucky for us, science is my favorite subject, so we should be good."

"Oh is it really? Betcha I'm better at it, the only reason I'm taking this stupid class is to get credits, I should be past college level classes by now. It plays a huge part in forensics, so I study it quite a bit too!"

"Yeah, that does make sense… Well, lets just try not to piss him off okay?"

She simply nodded as a man with a pencil thin mustache, huge glasses, and graying hair walked in. A spitting image of the tutor Gohan once had.

 _Yeah, I know I said to not piss him off… but its not like I NEED to get a good grade in the class. Can't hurt to have a little fun, can it?_

The man looked at the class for a few seconds before pulling out a huge book from behind his desk and slamming it on the table, "Alright class, answer all study questions from chapter one and turn them in next time. I'm not going to bother lecturing on it, as I'm told this is an advanced class. Most of it should be review anyways… Well… GET STARTED."

And with that he slammed his ruler down on the desk and thought to himself for a second, "oh yes, and NO TALKING." Satisfied with himself, he nodded and buried himself behind the school computer, oblivious to the class.

The two dark haired teens shared a glance and not using words, challenged each other to a race to see who could finish the quickest. 25 minutes later, Gohan was done and looked at Videl's paper, still 7 questions to go, so she'd be done in about 5 minutes or so. She looked up too, saw he was done, and furrowed her brow at him, obviously upset. He simply flashed a grin and held up the peace sign in victory.

 _Alright Gohan, time to get him back, just a bit more. Really wish I coulda hit him then, hopefully he gets fired now._

Silently, he got up from his chair and snuck over to the oblivious Mr. Shu, still engrossed in his computer with an odd grin on his face. Gohan snuck a peak at the monitor and wasn't even remotely surprised to find half naked women on the screen.

 _Oh Dende, this is just too perfect._

Letting out an evil grin, Gohan spoke in his best impersonation of Goten, "Uh teacher?"—Mr. Shu jumped up and smashed the power button on his monitor, turning it off—"What was that man doing to that lady? She didn't even have any clothes on…"

…

…

Seconds of silence followed, Mr. Shu was dumbstruck, unable to even respond to the comment and the students were equally as surprised, while Gohan could barely contain himself. He made eye contact with Videl, who was biting down on her lip hard, struggling to hold in laughter, but still some escaped with a small snort. That one small sound broke the flood gates and the entire room roared in a hysterical fit of laughter, kids were banging on the desk and in tears, unable to control themselves.

Now red faced, Mr. Shu grabbed a whip from under his desk and struck Gohan directly across the chest with it and screamed, "SHUT UP, ALL OF YOU."

Instant silence.

The entire room watched to see what would happen next, they'd all heard the rumors but to actually see it happen in class was absolutely insane. It was like watching a drama on TV.

Gohan was the one to break it, "Well, you owe me two new shirts now, see?" He pointed to a jagged hole from the whip on his chest and as he did it, used a small ki blade to cut himself open, to mimic a whip cut. A few of the tough guys in class laughed, but the rest gasped, one girl even cried out. Videl, on the other had was almost unnerved about the lack of reaction that Gohan showed when he was hit by the whip. Nothing of his facial features changed in the slightest, his body never even flinched at the impact, " _What the hell did this guy have to go through to get like that…?"_ She just stared at the two, trying to process what had happened and above all, wondering what had happened in this kids… no _man's_ past.

"Gah, to hell with that shirt, now who are you?"

"Well, _sir_ I'm Gohan Son. Also, I believe that was extremely excessive force to use for such a simple question. I can't help it if I was curious as to what sort of biology you were studying. Here, I'll show the class and see if any of them can help me out, since you won't answer."—Mr. Shu raised a hand again, but Gohan quickly moved to the monitor, rotated it around and turned it back on—"See guys? I really have no idea what's going on, but I believe it's some form of Biology, right?"

Again, the class roared in laughter and one of the same guys that laughed at Gohan's shirt joke yelled out, "Nah man, its the science of how to get fired!"

Fully enraged now, Mr. Shu laid the whip down across Gohan's back three more times, and three more times he used a ki blade to open his flesh. Again the class fell silent and even the tougher kids froze in place, terrified that they'd be next. But none other than Videl seemed to pick up on just how little this actually affected her newfound friend, and she was terrified too, but not of the whip, rather she was afraid of Gohan, his past, and what he really was capable of.

The taller man stood straight and turned his back to the class, fully facing Mr. Shu and this time everyone gasped, the same girl who cried out before was now in tears and a friend of hers ran out to get the principal.

In a strong, harsh voice Gohan spoke, gathering the attention of the entire class, "You know, he really _is_ good at the science of getting fired quickly."

Then, Mr. Shu's face lit up with realization, "Gohan… _SON?_ I remember you! You're the one with the crazy mother and the worthless father! No wonder you grew up so poorly!"

Silence once more. All Gohan could hear again was his own heartbeat, livid that this coward could say something like that about his family. Livid that he had to let him get away with it, for the sake of fitting in. Livid that he couldn't dismember the shorter man piece by piece for his stupidity. This rage, hatred… bloodlust shown clearly through on his face as he advanced on the shorter man.

In a voice much more powerful than any teenager's should ever be, he spoke, "You're going to wish you could take that back."

Mr. Shu was now absolutely terrified, it was like looking into the eyes of a bear whose cub he'd just slain. He was at once, convinced that the person standing before him couldn't be human, so he simply cowered.

Immediately Videl thought that this was a terrible idea for Shu to insult someone like Gohan, whose family was obviously everything to him and who didn't even flinch at four lashes. She ran up out of her chair and sprinted over to where Gohan was standing and caught a glimpse of his face. She too almost cowered in a corner after seeing the usually cheerful face of her friend contort into an almost demonic like, rage induced state. However, she simply acted on instinct and jumped in front of Gohan, slamming her fist into the side of the teacher's head and yelled, "No one should EVER say something like that. I'll PERSONALLY make sure you NEVER find work ANYWHERE else. Now LEAVE."

The man she had just struck gathered himself up off the ground in a sniveling mess, nodded quickly and sprinted out of the door where he met the principal. He hurriedly spat out something that sounded like "I quit!" and sprinted past him too, and out of the school. However, Gohan picked up a curious scent in the air, one that was all too common in boy's urinal's and realized that the man had just literally pissed himself out of fear.

 _She.. she.. just saved his life whether she realizes it or not, but I think she knew. In a roundabout way, she saved mine as well. I really should thank her somehow and I do owe her now, damnit I hate owing people. I'm supposed to be the strongest, but it seems like everyone's saving me, huh. Gah, this was supposed to be some fun for me but that got blew WAAAAY out of proportion, at least I got him to piss himself, hah coward. I guess that's a win for me?_

Gohan then turned to Videl, who was putting her best smile on for him, absolutely beaming. His expression softened and he gave her a small smile, and nodded in silent thanks, mouthing the words "I owe you" so that the rest of the class couldn't see. She perfectly understood and nodded, pleased with herself and thought, " _He's not all bad, but damn does he have a temper. But I was right, something really is off about him, and now he owes me, perfect."_

The principal walked up with a quizzical grin on his face and began to ask, "What's going on he—OH DEAR KAMI, what happened to you Mr. Son!?"

A short while later, the principal had been informed of what had just happened and nodded. "Gohan, I would like to formally apologize for what happened here. It is a disgrace to both me and my school, I am so very sorry."—The man bowed his head.

Surprised by this, Gohan just shook his head and raised his palms to chest level, "No, no it's fine, me and Mr. Shu had a previous encounter, and there's no way you could've known about it. No harm done, okay?"

The principal looked visibly relieved, as if a school-threatening lawsuit had just been avoided, but then was visibly shocked again when he saw the dripping of a thick red liquid beginning to pool on the floor. "You need medical attention! Get him to the infirmary right away!"

Gohan raised an arm, "No, no, its fine. I just bleed easy, it doesn't hurt that bad. I live close to the school, so may I be excused to go get a new shirt and clean up there? I have bandages and everything."

Not wanting to go against the boys wishes and anger him, potentially changing his mind about suing, he agreed, "Yes, of course! But I can't let you leave alone, at least take an adult with you, to make sure you get home safe."

Gohan shook his head, "No, no I couldn't ask anyone to do that, I don't want to be any trouble."

But then Videl stepped in, "He's right, we can't trouble any teachers here, so let me take him! I'm already done with all my homework and all that's left in the day is gym, which I can afford to miss, plus I have permission to leave if there's an emergency somewhere, and I'd say this is enough cause for an emergency, so what do you say?"

Eager to find a solution, the Principal nodded in agreement, "Yes, yes, wonderful idea, thank you Videl. Now you two hurry on out and be safe!"

 _What? Gah, damnit, no! If she sees anything, I'm screwed! I can shower easily enough, but she'll want to help me bandage the cuts and then she could see my tail or physique and then questions would be asked.. But it would be even more weird in this situation to deny it… Guess I'll just have to wing it, worst comes to worst, I can just transfer._

Gohan nodded, "Sure, sure, let's go. I really don't want to stain the floor." She nodded and the two walked towards the door and one of the guys whistled, another said, "Lucky bastard", yet another said something about a condom. Videl simply rolled her eyes and walked quicker, obviously annoyed, and Gohan decided to use the opportunity to get a few more laughs. Following Videl, he simply put up his middle finger, over the shoulder, and walked out.

 _I guess having them laugh at jokes will sort of break the ice and it won't be so awkward to talk to them. But what the hell is going on? I'm going to my apartment, where I live alone, to be taken care of by a beautiful women whom I'd just met today. That just sounds crazy… well crazy, yeah, but not quite as crazy as a weird half breed alien who can destroy planets. Now THAT's crazy…_

 **A/N aaaaaand cut! Wow, pretty intense first day, no? Don't worry, I've got plenty more where that came from, tons of stuff thought out to write about! And what's this? Gohan's going home alone with Videl? Dear god, that'll be interesting…**

 **Any bets on what'll happen? :3**

 **That being said, it will be a bit before the next chapter, like I explained in the first a/n. I feel bad about it, but real life always comes first! Anyways, hope everyone enjoyed the chapter, even a little bit :)**

 **As always, R &R is super helpful, I LOVE hearing feedback, so yeah, this'll be it for a while, hope to type to you all soon! 3**


	10. Baby Steps

**_Holy shit, its been a good while and when I said I think I'll be too busy to write, I meant it! I'll probably average about 5 or 6 hours of sleep a night, just doing school stuff, house stuff, and everything else that comes with college. I've been sleep deprived and sick 98% of my time here, but I've loved it and wouldn't do it any other way if I had the chance._**

 ** _That being said, I know, as a fact that I have went through some stuff, both good and bad that have changed me as a person. I've been through some of the greatest times in my life and the worst. I'm not saying that for sympathy or anything, but just as a fact. I've changed as a person, so my writing style may have changed along with me. I've tried to keep it true to the feel of the other chapters, but you guys are the real judges of that, so don't hate me if it feels a bit different!_**

 ** _Also on that note, I am a bit rusty in writing for fun rather than writing essays, so I kept this chapter a bit short and the plot progression marginal. If I see some unsatisfied reviews (with constructive criticism and reasoning) then I'll make edits and improve it. I did read over it a couple times, but its 2:30 in the morning and I really want to publish this, so we'll see how it all goes!_**

 ** _But that's about it for me so far, I'll let you know when I plan to write the next chapter after this one! Now time for-_**

 ** _Replies—_**

 ** _Everyone- Thank you. Seriously. Thank you all so much, you have no idea how much it means to me to have each and every one of you being positive (or negative if you didn't like the story) and not ever yelling at me to update. Everything is focused on the story and I don't feel any pressure, aside from what I put on myself, to update, which is so damn nice (and actually makes me want to write more). So before we get into specifics, thank you, you guys are the best 3_**

 ** _NinjaFang1331- Thanks dude!_**

 ** _Von Remington- Thank you and I'm curious to see what you think :3_**

 ** _nicolezhao16- Thank you man, that means a lot actually, I'm glad I can entertain you and hope to be able to in the future. Also, no problem and I'll try!_**

 ** _\- Glad you're enjoying, thank you!_**

 ** _Drama Llama-Sama- How's it been dude? But as for the help thing, I see what you mean. I'm going to try and not make it an anime cliche-fest lol and as for the tips on character interaction, I'll take those to heart and it helps a lot, since that the area of writing that I admittedly do need to improve on the most. I tried to improve in this chapter and, well let me know how I do. Again, I thank you for the well thought out and insightful review, I enjoy the hell out of 'em and hope you enjoy this next chapter!_**

 ** _Lucariomaster1- I will, don't you worry. Life just had a tendency to get in the way of everything lol_**

 ** _biob1- I see what you mean, but I was looking to dive into normally gentle Gohan's psyche and take a creative liberty to see how he'd respond in 'real' life. I feel like in the original story, he was just sorta forgotten and given a happy go lucky attitude for no reason and this story is about how I think a 12 year old would react and be shaped by an event like the Cell games. Glad you're enjoying (sorta?) and hope I cleared some stuff up for you._**

 ** _Primus2021- Yes you may vote for a Gohan Harem haha, on a side note, I could see that couple working in the anime, both obnoxious and annoying :3_**

 ** _Guest- Glad you're enjoying, I do what I can and hope you enjoy this next chapter!_**

 ** _mineng101- Wow, thank you, that means a lot! Hope I can continue to live up to expectations._**

 ** _Alright, with reviews done, I think it's time to start the chapter! Hope everyone enjoys, and don't forget to R &R! _**

"Hey, nice place where do you keep your first aid stuff?"

Gohan let out a nervous laugh, "Oh, that's in the bathroom, I think I'll shower then we can worry about patching all this up"—he pointed to a bloodstained shirt.

"About that Gohan… You sure you're okay? That looked pretty rough and—"

The taller of the two cut her off "Yeah, yeah I'm fine, he didn't even hit me that hard. I'll let you know when I'm done okay? Here's the remote, make yourself at home!"

With that Gohan left a concerned looking Videl to think about the events of the day so far, so she just sat on the couch and turned on the TV, lost in thought.

 _What the hell was that? He acted more concerned with me than with stopping the bleeding. Why? Usually people are more concerned with loosing blood than keeping someone at a distance… what could he possibly be hiding? Hmm I have a hard time believing its anything too crazy, maybe a birthmark or something? No, I don't think he'd care about that.. What is it then?!_

Gohan quickly stripped and showered off all the dried blood and chuckled to himself.

 _This would look pretty bad to anyone else.. maybe I shouldn't let Videl see, that could raise some unwanted questions. Plus this tail is kinda a red flag too…_

So, the demi set to work bandaging the newest additions to his already decorated body. He started off with an ointment that Bulma invented, which cleaned the wound, stopped the bleeding, and worked as a bonding agent for the skin, so it wouldn't open up again.

 _Bulma really is a genius. Incorporating Saiyan DNA with a salve like this to help speed healing? I should've thought of something like that, no idea what I'd do without her._

After applying that, which stung like a bitch Gohan thought, he started to wrap the soft white gauze around his back and chest. Before getting very far, a slightly concerned voice came through the door "You're taking a while, everything okay in there Gohan?"

Startled, Gohan replied, "Ah- Uh, yeah I'm fine just a se- shit!"—disgruntled, he knocked over the first aid kit, sending its contents scattering across the floor.

"Ah! You sure you're okay? Should I come in?"

"Y-yeah I'm fine, I mean no don't come in, just hold on a sec!"

Panicking slightly, worried that the pair of shorts he had on wouldn't conceal his tail, he set about to gather what he dropped and ended up breaking several glass vials. "Shit, uh its fine I just dropped something!"

Finally becoming impatient and annoyed with not knowing what was happening, Videl reached for the door, "Alright whatever, I'm coming in, make sure you're covered up!"

"No no wai—" the door flew open, revealing a scowling face looking at the ground.

 _Not good not good not good… I can't let her see behind me!_

"Listen Gohan, I don't know how it works where you're from, but I came here to help bandage you up, so let me help! Geez, its like pullin— woah." The smaller of the two's scowl turned into a wide eyed face of disbelief. Before her was not the body of Gohan, the nice, naive book nerd with an interesting past, but rather the body of some unnamed warrior, painted with more scars than she could count and a muscle tone that was.. inhuman.

 _Just what the hell…_

Her eyes traced the contours of his body… eventually coming to his shoulder, where they lingered for a bit, widening even further. His shoulder was more scar tissue than actual skin, but what could've caused that? How? Why? What did this guy go through? Questions raced through Videl's mind, leaving her speechless, unable to say anything. Gohan, on the other hand stared right back at her, white faced and wide eyed with realization.

 _The scars… the damn scars, I was so worried about my tail I forgot about them! This'll be fun to explain._

For a moment, the two just stared at each other, one with morbid curiosity, the other with dread and fear. Then Videl broke the silence, "You should finish those up, need any help?"

Stunned Gohan began fumbling with the gauze again. There was only a few more wraps before he was completely covered, "No, I'm almost done thank you. I've had to do it myself more times than I can count, so I'm used to it!" About a minute later, Gohan was completely patched up and Videl excused herself out of the bathroom, much to his relief. He then put on the only outfit he had in the bathroom, a fighting gi and long sleeved t-shirt, before walking out to greet the blank faced Videl.

"Uh… hi… Thanks for offering to help and everything, you didn't have to, but it means a lot that you did!" Gohan let out an awkward laugh and forced smile, scratching the back of his head.

Videl just turned and looked at him with disbelief, a mixture of awe and sadness played on her features and she just nodded. Silence permeated the air for a minute or so before she finally gathered her thoughts and began to form a sentence.

 _Based on his reaction to the Cell Games video.. maybe he was a victim?! Or something like that… But the way he took pain means that a lot of these scars were probably from something else. Either way, I don't think he is too good with people yet and I did probably just see something I shouldn't have… maybe I should be nice to the guy? He looks terrified. But scared of what?! Some secret I still don't know?! I know we're not exactly close, but curiosity and all that. But most of all… how the hell does he look like_ that _?! I hate to say it, but not even dad had that much muscle in the Cell Games… So many questions. Ugh, whatever._

"So… you must work out a little more than you let on, eh?"

Still unsure, Gohan continued, "Uh… well yeah. Most of it is from growing up in the mountains though. We worked and trained pretty much every day, so it just kinda happened.." He let out another nervous laugh. "You train quite a bit too don't you? With your dad and everything. You look like you have a fighters physique too."

 _Good, if I can ask her some questions, maybe I can turn the conversation around? Plus mom always said to compliment girls, so maybe that'll help too.. Never really worked with Lime though, meh oh well._

With a slight brush, Videl rolled her eyes, "Yeah I get that a lot, but thanks. Yes, I train everyday to be stronger than my father. I really hate people comparing me to him all the time though! I'm my own person damn it. I'll do what I want… Oh sorry, didn't mean to rant there, it just gets old."

 _Huh… sounds pretty similar to me now that I think about it. I'm compared to Dad all the time.. not that I should be, but as for having something expected of you from a young age? Hah, I was born with that decision made for me._

Almost without meaning to, Gohan gave a knowing nod, "Yeah, I know what you mean, that sort of stuff does get old. Anyways, I didn't know you liked to fight so much, that's awesome! Why'd you choose to start?"

A dark shadow passed Videl's face for a split second before she responded, "Yeah, its the one thing I can really get lost in, ya know?"—Gohan nodded, smiling—"As for why I started… well I started training when I was young, cause I wanted to be like my dad and protect people from 'the bad guys' as cheesy as that sounds. But then we got in an argument and now he doesn't want me to fight anymore and won't let me enter the tournament next year unless I can beat him in a fight, so right now, I guess I'm trying to get stronger than him. Right now, he won't even spar with me, so I think I've got a ways to go… What about you?" She finished with a slightly downtrodden expression.

 _I wonder if she knows how much stronger she is than her father… Hell, I wonder if she knows what she's capable of at all! If she knew ki control, then she could be scary._

"Why'd I start? Hm…"—He walked over to the kitchen, grabbing a couple glasses—"Well, since we don't have to go back to school, want anything to eat or drink? I'm probably going to brew a cup of coffee, does tea sound good? Water?"

Scowling, Videl nodded, "Yeah, coffee's fine, but then its your turn okay?"

Gohan nodded, hitting the 'go' button on the coffee maker, "Sure, sure. Cream and sugar or anything?"

"No, blacks fine." Videl responded a little too quickly, impatient and ready for an answer.

Finally, the gauze covered man served the coffee, a bitter yet pleasant aroma filling the air. "Here you go"—she nodded her thanks and sat back on the couch while Gohan found a chair—"Alright, so why did I start fighting? Well, I guess you could say I never really had a choice in the matter. I was training and working basically since I could walk, so I never knew anything else. It was kinda nice though, life was simple and we were all really close. But living like that isn't without its drawbacks, I almost died a few times and, well you've seen what I look like."

Videl eyed the demi and nodded, sipping her coffee, subtly urging him to continue.

With a sigh, Gohan continued

 _Maybe this way I can set everything straight. If I'm convincing enough, maybe it'll keep her from asking any more questions._

"See this?"—Gohan moved his hair back, pointing to the wide scar on his forehead. Videl's eyes widened and quickly nodded, excited to have her question answered—"Well, that's a product of my upbringing. When I was… like 10 I think? Or 11.. I dunno whatever, quite a few years ago, I wanted to bring home eggs for breakfast the next day, so I was looking for a nest to grab some from. Well, looking back, I could've gotten some from the farm, but I wanted to impress my family with dinosaur eggs."—A mixture or awe and disbelief crossed Videl's face and she laughed.

"You… as a 10 year old thought it would be a good idea to steal _dinosaur_ eggs?! No wonder you have all those scars, doing stuff like that."

Gohan laughed a little and nodded before continuing, "Yeah, well maybe you're right.. Anyways, I found a huge nest at the top of a tree. I waited for a bit under it and the momma pterodactyl flew off, so I thought it was my chance. I climbed the tree as fast as I could and grabbed three eggs, the things were so big I couldn't carry anymore. Thinking I was in the clear I started to climb down and… well the mother saw me and flew back. Boy was she pissed and wow was I scared. I think you could probably guess what happened from there, eh?"

Picturing a kid Gohan up in a tree, arms full of dinosaur eggs, was so outrageous that Videl found it hilarious. She couldn't help but fall into a fit of laughter, lighting up her features and softening her face, causing Gohan to stare.

 _Woah… she's kinda… well hot when she's not glaring at people… But talk about a sadistic sense of humor, for all she knows, I could've died!_

Pausing from this laughing fit, "Sorry, sorry, I don't know why I found that funny, you probably could've died from that, but it was just so… _out there_ that I couldn't help myself! But, yeah I think I can guess, but continue anyways, I want to hear it from you."

Raising an eyebrow an shaking his head Gohan let out a snort of dry laughter and continued, "Well, momma dino decided that she didn't really like me, so she dove at me. Terrified, but kinda excited, I jumped up on the branch and avoided her before trying to climb back down. I was doing pretty good until I caught my pants on a branch and stumbled. I remember a huge wing hitting me and throwing the eggs in the air, trying to catch myself, then falling. Next thing I knew, I woke up with a headache and pissed off parents. I guess someone found me after I fell and took care of me, but yeah that's the story of how I got this."—He pointed to his forehead again.

Videl just shook her head, then stared at Gohan in disbelief. "Well… damn. I don't really know how to respond to that. Probably more interesting than any story I could tell. You must've led quite an interesting life so far, Gohan. I don't know if I'm jealous of you or if I feel bad for you!"

"Yeah.. I know what you mean, but don't feel bad, I wouldn't trade my childhood for anything, I loved it. Every day was fun and I learned quite a bit."

"I'd believe that.. But why Orange Star High? I know your mom wanted to get social experience and everything, but why here? We're not that great at anything besides P.E. and the town has the highest crime rate in the world, so enlighten me."

Gohan nodded in thought for a second, realizing this question as a very valid one. He knew why OSH was his first choice, but what should he tell Videl? After a brief pause, he answered, "Well, the physical education program here is why I wanted to come here. My mom homeschooled me, so she was confident enough in my academic performance, so she agreed. We knew that I could handle myself well enough, so the crime rate wasn't a huge issue and because of that, the rent here is waaaay cheaper than anywhere else for something like this. Plus its kinda close to the school and out of the way, so I think it was a good choice overall."

Nodding, Videl stared him straight in the eyes with a curious intensity, "Okay, two more questions, sorry if it feels like I'm interrogating you, I'm just curious and you're really… interesting. But how did you know Mr. Shu?"

"No worries, I'm sure a lot of people would have questions after that. Well, you know how my mom homeschooled me?"—she nodded—"Well, she thought I could use some help after I started slacking a bit. She found the guy for cheap and thought a strict teacher would help me out. We didn't know how bad he was and he tried to whip me once and insulted my family, so I confronted him. Before I could do anything, my mom punched him square in the nose and kicked him out on the spot."

Again, the raven haired beauty laughed, envisioning an enraged female-Gohan punching the cowardly Mr. Shu right in the nose. "Okay now _that's_ funny, I never liked him and after seeing what he did, I think I would've loved to see that happen!"

Chuckling, Gohan agreed, "Yeah, mom would've been proud to see you punch him like that in all honesty. Thanks for that by the way, I know if you wouldn't of been there, I probably would've made a bad name for myself, so thank you. I really owe ya one."

With a mischievous smile, Videl replied, "Oh, no no, don't worry about it! But… if you're offering, I do have one favor I'd like to ask. It just so happens to be my last question too."

 _Perfect, this could work out really well for me, since he said he owes me and all. Today's just been a great day and maybe I can convince him to help me beat Dad. He looks capable enough, so there's got to be something I can learn from him, or at the very least more of a challenging sparring partner than Sharpner._

Hanging his head, Gohan knew his hands were tied, "Sure… Go ahead."

"Oh, thanks! Well first, I'd just like to know what fighting styles you used, just out of curiosity. I mean you're from so far away and had such a unique upbringing, it has to be something cool, right!? And as for the request, I would like you to come to my gym at my place and train with me. At least once. We can spar and maybe, if you're willing, we can show each other some different forms and techniques. Its a win-win! You get a tough sparring partner, the chance to pick up some new techniques, and get a chance to train! So.. Whaddya say?!"

 _If only she knew… Well shit. How do I respond to this? Do I keep Lime's plan and say I can't fight or do I just go with it. At this point, it would be better to not refuse… I can make up another reason for not joining a club later and for some odd reason, I feel like she would make a much better ally than enemy… hmm… I think I'll go with it then, I've just gotta be aware of my tail and it should all be good._

"Yeah, sure that'd be fine. But only on one condition. I would like you to keep this conversation private… I'd rather not have people knowing my personal life just yet. I wanna get to know people first and not have a reputation before I even start to do that. Is that fair?"

Videl nodded and winked, "Well, I think you ruined that yourself with Mr. Shu, you're now going to be known as the kid who ran the worst teacher in school out of a job. Its not a bad reputation, but that being said, you'll probably get a lot of attention. As for this? Of course I can keep it a secret."

Relief warmed Gohan's limbs as he smiled, "Ok perfect, thank you so much… When did you want to train then..?"

"No problem. I think tomorrow after school is as good a time as any. We can stop by here so you can change into something like that"—she waved her hand at the gi Gohan was wearing—"then I can drive us to my place."

"Uhh… I don't wanna sound like a wuss or anything, but I think training should wait for a bit. I don't wanna open these cuts up so soon. They aren't that deep, so it should only take about a week to heal. We can go Tuesday of next week if that's okay with you?"

Videl's eyes bulged, horrified with how easily she forgot he was injured and how rude it was of her to be grilling him like this. She felt ashamed and her cheeks flushed, "Oh! I'm so so sorry Gohan, I completely forgot about that. Yes, whenever you're healed is perfectly fine by me and take your time. You probably want to rest after that, huh. Sorry to keep you for so long, I'll go let the school know you're doing well!"

She started to get up and leave, running from the shame, but Gohan stopped her. "Hey, no problem! You're fine, I think its good to have company, its pretty much the whole reason I went to high school in the first place. But don't worry about me, I've been through way worse and I have some stuff I put on cuts from home that's even better than Capsule Corps medication. The bleeding's stopped and it doesn't even hurt anymore. Think it would be a good idea of me to go back with you? Maybe talk to the principal or something, let him know I'm okay in person."

 _Is he for real? I guess I really don't know this guy at all.. No one should be able to take an injury like that and act like nothing happened. I don't know if he even realizes how abnormal that really is? He seems so experienced with life, but so naive of the way the world works. Gohan Son, you are a truly interesting person._

"Well thank you, but I really think you should stay here. Rest up and come back tomorrow or maybe even skip a day. Most people wouldn't have been able to stand after that, let alone walk to and from school. I think you'd get more attention than anything if you came back now, it'd make you stick out. People would know you're not exactly normal, ya know?"—Gohan studied her for a second, deep in thought, then nodded—"Good! I'll just go and tell them you're fine and just resting now. I'll come by here again tomorrow after school with the homework and you can come back the day after. Sound good?"

"Actually… yeah that makes a lot of sense. Sounds great actually, thank you! That probably did just save a lot of headache.."

Flashing a confident smirk, Videl got up and headed toward the door, "No problem, Gohan. You just rest and get better and let me know if you need anything okay? "—She pulled out a piece of paper and pen from her backpack, writing down a number—"talk to ya tomorrow!"

Without waiting for a reply she shut the door and walked down the steps. "I really should get a phone." He said to no one in particular.

Sighing, Gohan gathered up the cups, washed them and set them out to dry. He then grabbed the torn up shirt and incinerated it in a ball of energy, there was no saving that shirt, and gathered up the rest of his blood stained clothes, putting them into a small backpack, opting to wash them at Capsule Corp, as Bulma made a detergent specially designed to get blood out of nearly any material.

 _Wow… that actually went a lot better than I expected. Maybe she isn't so bad… I mean she seemed nice enough and genuinely concerned for me. A little rough around the edges and quick to anger, but she's real. Maybe this group really isn't so bad and maybe this whole school thing wasn't such a bad idea either… ah I dunno, I'll figure it out later. First thing's first is this laundry and all I can say is thank you again Bulma, you really are a genius. I can honestly say that I wouldn't be alive right now without you and your inventions. I better head over there and talk to her about getting a phone and cleaning these clothes up. It'd be good to get a bit of training in too. The salve should've closed something like that up by now, so time to get to work. I feel bad lying to as genuine a person as Videl, but its for the best. Doubt she would even believe me if I told her the truth anyway. Okay, in another couple minutes I think she'll be far enough away not to see me and I can head on over to CC. Ready up Vegeta, I'm ready to spar._

 _-Somewhere in Other World-_

"Arrrrrggggghhhh… Ahhhh… Almost there…. Cmon… AAAAHHHHH!" An urgent, almost pained scream pierced the sky with unnatural force. The heavens themselves were shaking and a lone warrior glowed in the night. As his voice grew, so did his aura. It increased so much and shone so brilliantly that it was impossible to look at, lightning cackled in every direction and bits of ground rose into the air, only to be disintegrated into nothing.

A second later the ground began to rumble and the fighter began to change. His body swelled, brow broadened and hair grew, shining with pure golden energy. Then, nothing. The ground stopped shaking and the lightning began to settle down.

The warrior looked forward, glaring with deadly intent, his face twisted into a determined, enraged expression.

"Alright you big pink son of a bitch, you're mine!"

The last word echoed out and the warrior disappeared, followed by another yell and two equally as large explosions of pink and gold. The battle picked up in intensity, each warrior mutilating the other, fighting with the desperation to live. After another exchange, the two flew back, breathing heavily, one bleeding red, the other oozing pink.

"This ends now." _KA..ME..HA..MEEEEE….HAAAAAAAAAA_

Blinding blue light erupted from the hands of the golden warrior with such intensity that the surroundings simply vanished, but this beam was met by an equally as massive pink blast, coming together in the middle to form a swirling vortex of light purple death. The stalemate ensued and just as the blue beam started to lose ground, a third, orange-yellow energy joined the battle.

The blue and yellow lights converged into one brilliant light, completely overpowering their adversary, wiping it from existence. The lights faded, replaced by the soft glow of the moon and a calm followed. The previously long-haired golden fighter reverted into his normal state, free falling from his suspended state in the air, hitting the ground with a massive thud, sending up clouds of dust.

"Goku! You okay!?" A deep, rough voice yelled out as a green figure flew down to the crater. He was met by the smiling, bloodied face of the late Saiyan, who just nodded before laying back down, slipping into unconsciousness.

 _Damnit, damnit, damnit! Still not strong enough. WHY?! I'm sorry Gohan, I'm sorry ChiChi.. everyone, I will get stronger. I swear to you… I will…_

 ** _And cut! That's a wrap. Whose Goku fighting? How will Gohan handle high school? Well, that's for me to know and you all to find out (hopefully in an interesting and exciting way, if I write well enough). That being said, I do know how the story will end and I have the plot all laid out. I feel like its not half bad and an interesting take on the story that's already made. Hopefully at the end of this you'll agree._**

 ** _As for when the next chapter is out, I really have no idea. If for some reason I have all my homework done and I'm confident in all my finals (finals week is two weeks after we get back from break) and I have time away from all the house stuff, then I could have a short chapter done in the next three weeks. OR I could be really productive and have another shorter chapter done before I have to go back to school. We'll see. I'm really leaning towards trying to get another 4k-ish word chapter done before I head back, but no promises! However, during Christmas break, which is a month, I should have some more time to write. So that's how everything stands as of now._**

 ** _Thanks again for being so patient and understanding, that helps more than you guys know!_**

 ** _Let me know what you guys thought of the first chapter back, the reviews really do help, they put me in a good mood too :3_**

 ** _Until Next Time!_**


	11. Passion and Opportunity

**_Okay I feel bad for this, as its been a while and its a shorter chapter but still… I had to release something so people know its not dead. This fic is never far from my mind and I'd love to write it, but I have literally no time. I was home for maybe 5 days over Christmas vacation and now that I'm in school, classes take up a ton of time. Calc 2 takes a good chunk of my day and that's just one class, followed up by some CS classes… its just crazy time consuming. Just letting everyone know its not dead and I still love this story and still love you guys, I even wrote out the entire plot outline, in detail so I could take a break and come back to the story when I need to/can. I feel proud of the plot I constructed, so just bear with me, I want to take my time and do a good job on this. Thanks for understanding_**

 ** _Replies!_**

 ** _anonymous- I see where you're coming from, I was trying to convey that Goku was already extremely tired and the opponent was pushing him to this stage. He was straining because the fight had gone on so long, but that's all I can say, you'll figure out more in the future!_**

 ** _Reign Of Sorrow- Thank you, friend._**

 ** _shugokage- Glad you're enjoying!_**

 ** _Dratias- Nononono, I will never willingly stop this story, I love it too much :) But thank you, I'm glad you like the style. I know there's much more I can improve on and that's why its taking me so long to write. I could crank out a part a week, but quality would suffer, so this is all I can do for now… Life is crazy, but rest assured I'll always be grinding away here. Thank you for the review._**

 ** _Okay, onto the shorter chapter!_**

Mind still buzzing with the events of the day, Gohan made the trip over to CC, wondering how Bulma and Vegeta would react to the story of the day. His mother and brother on the other hand, could find out about this next weekend. ChiChi would no doubt be all over the school, livid that her son was assaulted, even though no damage could've been done in the slightest. If he didn't calm her down, then there's no telling what she'd do to the school.

Arriving in a flash of light in front of a particularly large dome shaped building, Gohan took a deep breath and walked in, met by a smiling, although slightly confused Bulma.

"Hey there kiddo, what brings you here? I thought you'd go straight to the gravity chamber, what's up?"

Gohan relayed his adventure at school and later at his apartment. To his surprise, Bulma smirked wider than Gohan had ever seen her smirk and laughed, as if to say that she knew something he didn't.

"Oh, sure I'll get ya a cell phone and you can put this girls number in it. I'll have it ready after you're through training. Run along now Gohan, talk to you later!"—then in barely a whisper, Bulma turned around and started walking away, saying—"Oh how adorable, I can't wait to tell Chi about this, she'll love it!"

"Wait What!?" Gohan was confused and a little alarmed, unaware of his blunted friend's ulterior motives.

Bulma spun around, "Oh, damn I forgot about you Saiyans and your hearing, never mind Gohan. It's nothing, just some mom talk." and with that she sent Gohan a wink and walked away. Leaving him stuttering, "what, but, uh what? Wait!" but the words fell upon deaf ears.

 _Damnit Bulma, I hate when you get like this… Nothing I can do now though, might as well train._

—A few hours later—

Both bruised, bloodied, and breathing hard, Vegeta and Gohan walked out of the chamber. Only one of the cuts opened back up, so after they cleaned up, Gohan reapplied the salve and wrapped himself back up in gauze, before saying his goodbyes, getting his new phone, and departing for Satan City. Vegeta had reacted pretty much as Gohan expected. He was annoyed with how Mr. Shu treated Gohan and even more annoyed that the man was still breathing, but acknowledged the necessity of it. That was pretty much the extent of the conversation they had, as they were both eager to train.

By now, it was dark out and school started in about eight hours or so, not that Gohan planned on going. The moon was bright in the sky, allowing for him to see about as well as normal humans could during the day, so Gohan allowed himself to fly home slower than normal, taking in the sights and sound of the night, inhaling breath after breath of the sweet, crisp night air.

 _This really is relaxing, I understand why Piccolo loves the mountains so much. Might as well take the time to enjoy the flight home.. wonder what the city looks like at night too._

So Gohan did just that, and chose to take a more indirect route home, so that he could see more of the city. From his altitude, it looked like a flat Christmas tree, except some of the lights were moving and everything seemed to be… alive with energy. Different sounds reached his height, car horns, engines, a rather unlucky guy who just dropped his guitar, house parties, even some people yelling and… gunshots? Why gunshots? There's no firing range near here, is there?

Confused, but alert, Gohan raised his power level to just under super and flew over where the source of the gunshots were coming from. The second he flew over the site, the harsh odor of burnt gunpowder assaulted his nose. Focusing on the scene below, Gohan saw four men outside of a bank, armed with assault rifles and what seemed to be full bullet proof vests. They looked to be stalling for something, a get away car maybe? Opposite of them were ten or so horribly unprepared police officers hiding behind car doors, armed with standard pistols and one or two had shotguns. One seemed to be badly injured but pinned down and another officer tried to carry his comrade out, but ended up getting shot in the leg himself. The situation was dire and pissed Gohan off to no end.

 _Who do they think they are? What gives them the right to do this? These are the kind of people that should've just stayed dead after Cell. I probably should do something about this…_

Adopting an intimidating scowl, Gohan tensed up his body, and a golden aura erupted around him, coloring his hair, eyes, and tail, which escaped from his clothes. He shot off towards the sound, eyes tracking a single bullet that would've ended one of the injured officer's lives. He appeared in front of the two, the smell of blood reaching Gohan's nose, angering him more, speaking to his primal side.

 _Fucking ungrateful animals_

He caught the entire magazine's worth of bullets and threw them to the ground, ignoring the look of shock and awe from the officers and relishing in the look of shock and horror of the robbers. In a deep, commanding voice, one that demanded authority, the glowing hero called out, "Send for medics and get these two out of here. Don't worry about them, they're mine."

There were seconds of silence, neither side fully registering what had just happened.

"NOW" The simple one word command was enough to get the police officers scrambling and enough to make a single terrorist, the largest of the group, to speak up.

"Hah, yeah right punk, LOCK AND LOAD BOYS, LET'S GO!" With that, the assault rifles began to bark all right once, sending hundreds of bullets towards the police, who froze with terror.

 _You're kidding… Do they really not know how screwed they are?!_

Finally pissed in earnest, Gohan bellowed, "ENOUGH!" and with that, the bullets stopped, suspended in midair for a second, before falling to the ground, like metallic rain. Just as the bullets fell, Gohan disappeared, suddenly reappearing in front of the man who yelled out earlier, kicking him in the thigh met with an extremely satisfying crack, before taking his other leg, spinning around in mid air, and sending his heel into the man's chest. Another crack and the man was sent, barreling through one of the windows in the bank, shattering it, before skidding into a heap on the floor. Less than a second passed and Gohan dispatched the rest of the group in a similar way. He headed into the bank to throw the man with the other pile of unconscious terrorists, but as he picked up the body, one last man tried to stab the demi in the back.

 _Coward._

Gohan didn't even take the time to turn around, so he simply grabbed the man's wrist with his tail.

"Wh-what!? What are yo- ARRGGHH!"

He constricted his tail, crushing the mans wrist, before throwing him out into the street with the others in a heap. He then threw the last man with the rest and without another word, rocketed out into the air, purposely blinding those around with his aura and headed home, returning to his base state, finally calming down a bit.

 _Hmmm.. did I overdo it a bit? …. Yeah maybe, but oh well, they deserved it. Maybe it'll stop some others from doing the same thing if they hear about this? Doubt it but still.. doesn't hurt to hope. Time to go home and get some sleep though, tomorrow's going to be a good day of training and homework._

 _—_ **The Next Day** —

The next morning, at around 11, Gohan finally stirred. He made the conscious decision to turn off all his alarms, opting for more sleep than a too short training session or anything of the sort. School would be over in a few hours and Videl would be back with his homework then, so Gohan decided to do something he hadn't in what seemed like forever. He laid back, relaxed and decided to read a book, for enjoyment rather than for his academics.

He reasoned with himself that there wasn't enough time to do much of anything for training and he had no idea exactly when Videl would be back, sometime after school but other than that, he didn't know. So, he should stay home and enjoy himself.

After a few hours of relaxation, he decided to go shower, put on some clothes, and eat lunch. By the time this was all over, it was around 3 and school would be out soon, so Gohan decided to return to his book on the couch, getting some coffee. Then, at about 3:30 or so, a knock on the door jarred Gohan from the book.

He went and opened the door, met by a scowling Videl. "Hi!"

"Hey Gohan, here's your homework and how're the cuts?" She sounded actually concerned for the guy, but was met by a smile from her friend.

"Oh thanks! But I'm doing fine, they don't even hurt anymore. I've just been laying around all day, so they're healing."

She shook her head, wondering if it was weirder that he was acting like this or if she wasn't surprised by it. Rather than stand in the doorway, she walked in after Gohan offered, setting down the papers, her backpack, and another duffle bag, probably full of training equipment. "Good, so I have the notes from today if you want to go over them before I go train, sound good?"

So, the two exchanged notes and Gohan humored her, letting Videl 'teach' some of the new material from the day. After a couple of hours, Videl felt satisfied that she had done a decent enough job for Gohan to finish all the homework on his own, so she stood up, took the two cups and plates that they had used earlier into the kitchen and started to wash them off.

"Oh, hey you don't have to do that, it's not like I have anything better to do right now!"

Videl shook her head, "No, no, its fine, you're still injured whether you admit it or not, so its the least I can do. But hey, have you heard?"

"Uh.. heard what?"

"About that guy at the bank yesterday!"

At that, Gohan sat up a little straighter, more alert, curious as to what people were saying about him. "The bank…? No, I've just been sleeping and reading since last night, so I haven't heard any news."

Videl looked truly excited, eager to share what she'd learned, since this news was about what interested her the most, stopping crime. "Well, yesterday night a group robbed a bank here and caught the cops off guard. They were winning the firefight and I guess a cop was almost killed then a glowing golden guy appeared in the middle of everything and get this, he actually _caught_ the bullets! Then he went and kicked all the robbers asses and then disappeared. There was a video of it and everything! Look!"

"Woah, no way that's crazy!"

She pulled out her phone and began to search it for the video as a pit appeared in Gohan's stomach. The color drained from his face and he began to get nervous.

 _Shit shit shit… I should've been moving too fast for a phone camera to catch, but I did stand still a couple times. As long as they didn't get my face, I should be okay, but still. I've gotta be more careful… Maybe go ss3 to fight them? But then I don't know if I could hold myself back enough not to kill…_

"Uh, Gohan… hello?"

He jumped back to his senses from the mental conversation he was having with himself, "Oh! Sorry, yeah ready!"

She cocked up an eyebrow and the two leaned over a phone screen to watch the video that already had over a million views. It was a grainy image of a glowing man, with a tail, who shouted, "ENOUGH!" and disappeared. The video after that turned to static and all that could be heard were different shouts, until the mysterious fighter threw out the last terrorist. A blinding flash of light followed and then the camera caught a golden streak in the sky.

 _Hmm… not too bad. I don't think anyone could realize that's me unless they had some serious help. Still… I've gotta be careful._

He put on is best surprised face and asked, feigning disbelief, "Did he…. fly? You sure this isn't a joke?"

Videl scowled and shook her head, "No, they're doing news segments about it and the police that were there said it was real. That and those terrorists looked pretty beat up when they covered it on the news…"

"But just what the hell could that have been, then? Some sort of military grade drone or something?" Gohan tried to steer the conversation in a direction away from anything that could get him in trouble.

"Hmm"—a short pause followed and Videl looked lost in thought—"Well I guess that makes the most sense at this point. No human could do that, it had to be a robot or something. Some prototype from the military or Capsule Corp or something like that. I'm still interested though…"

 _Uh oh… judging by how Mom and Bulma act, she won't stop looking for something until she satisfies that curiosity. This could be tricky…_

Gohan nodded, also appearing lost in thought, "I agree… its weird. Kinda cool though right? I mean from the sounds of it, there could've been lives lost so whatever that thing was, I'm just glad it did some good."

"Agreed."—Videl got up and gathered her bags before starting to walk to the door—"Alright Gohan, I've gotta go train. Just let me know if you need anything— Oh and before I forget, text me so I have your number. I was gonna call you and let you know I was on my way, but couldn't."

"Ah, yeah one second"—The Saiyan fidgeted with his phone for a bit—"There. I'll let you know if I need any help and I'll see you tomorrow in school. But for training, I should be good to go by next week, sound good?"

Another genuine smile lit Videl's features, "Yeah, of course, just don't overdo it, k? See ya later Gohan!"

—

 **Next Week**

 **—**

After school, Videl led Gohan out the front door and pulled out a capsule, threw it at the ground and waited for the car to appear. Once it did, the two hopped in and started the quick drive to her house. Over the course of the week, Gohan had become something of a school hero, at least for the first couple days he was back. Then everyone seemed to forget about what he did, too busy with their own lives to care. The small group that Gohan could call his friends, however were becoming closer to each other by the day. He now felt confident enough to participate in the light-hearted harassment and started to enjoy their company more and more.

The same went for the rest of the school. Pretty much everyone was nice to him and would say hi in the halls or ask him for homework help. Even the bullies tended to steer clear of him, no doubt aware of the incident with Mr. Shu. Whatever the case, high school was going along pretty well for the half alien teen, but today was a big day.

He'd have to train with an extremely aggressive partner and go talk to the one man who seemed to recognize him from the Cell Games. It worried Gohan, but he hoped that Hercule would have enough sense to ignore their familiarity, or at least discuss it in private.

"You sure you're feeling up to this?" Videl asked, never taking her eyes off the road.

"Yeah, yeah don't worry, I'm fine. The cuts are pretty much completely healed and I even did a little training last night on my own, so I know I'm healthy enough." He flashed a reassuring smile.

"Alright, just making sure. I'm a little excited to tell you the truth, it'll be good to have a sparring partner with someone that doesn't have a fighting style influenced by my dad. That's all anyone ever has around here and its annoying!"

"I understand completely, it'll be good to spar with someone new after training with the same people for so long."

 _Come to think of it, I only actually train with Vegeta and even that gets old…_

"Good! We're almost there, you can just leave your backpack in the car, I'll drop you off when we're done."

—

Gohan walked into a fighter's wet dream, rows of heavy bags and speed bags were available for use, three full sized rings for sparring were available, rows upon rows of weights and other training equipment took up another portion of floor space, and the gym was complete with two full sized locker rooms.

He whistled, "Woah, this is quite the place, I don't think I could ever get bored here."

Videl gave a dry laugh, "Yeah, it sucks when you're the only one training though."

Gohan nodded, completely understanding her complaint. When the two were finally finished, they stretched and Videl called for an easy spar to finish warming up. Agreeing, Gohan settled into his stance at one end of the ring, while Videl raised an eyebrow, not used to this foreign style. She readied herself and announced that the sparring could start.

Even at a half effort, Videl could have easily overwhelmed most fighters years older than her, it surprised Gohan that she could be so strong with no formal training of ki. Regardless, he studied her stance and form as he ducked under a series of punches, blocking a kick.

 _hmmm… her form is a bit too heavy handed and relies too much on power. Its like Krillin trying to fight like Broly. He almost laughed at the mental image of a short Krillin swinging slow. No, all she needs is a quicker, more accurate style. Something that can use her strength for agility and striking power. But damn… if only she would let me teach her how to use ki, then that could be scary._

Scowling, Videl sought to knock that distanced look off Gohan's face with a left-legged round house, only to have it catch air when he made an odd duck, bending backwards, before catching himself on one hand and making a slow foot sweep at her remaining foot on the ground. She was so caught off guard at this bizarre style that she couldn't make herself dodge in time and ended up hard on her back.

Gohan's eyes widened in surprise as Videl let out a grunt of pain and grabbed her ankle, "Ah uh um Videl! I'm sorry I didn—"

"Shutup, I'm fine, that was just a hell of a move. That ankle has been bothering me for a while and I shouldn't have left it open, that's my bad. Let's take a quick break for me to ice and heat then we can get back. Sound good?"

"Yeah, of course, where's the ice?"

So, Gohan wrapped Videl's ankle in ice and the two sat there for a second before Videl frowned and asked, "Well… what did you think? We weren't going full speed but still. Honest opinion."

 _Do I be honest and get yelled at or play peacekeeper… hmm… sorry mom but girls aren't always right I guess._

"Ok, completely honest, from what I've seen, your fighting style is a bit too… brutish for you."

She raised an eyebrow, almost as a challenge, obviously annoyed, "Oh, yeah? What makes you say that?"

Gohan sighed, "Well, your blows are quick, but are too heavy. You're probably one of the most gifted fighters I've met, but that's what I see holding you back. If you changed just a little, to a quicker, more accurate style, your strength and speed could be used much better, since you don't have mass amounts of muscle mass to slow you down. I went through the same thing with my dad, I wanted to fight just like him, but had to develop my own style. One that suited my mentality and physique better. It helped me a ton."

It had just slipped out, but there it was. Gohan had openly and willingly talked about his father, but just then a dark feeling crossed his stomach, remnants of the taboo he placed upon himself from ever mentioning Goku.

Videl looked like she was going to hit him but then her face softened and took on a thoughtful tone. "Hmm… well I can see where you're coming from, and my dad is a lot more bulky than I am, but still. That's how I learned to fight, so its kinda ingrained, ya know? I can't just change it all of a sudden."

The taller man brightened up, "Ah, but that's the thing. You don't necessarily have to change up techniques. Judging by how you spar, you've pretty much mastered that technique. Now, how about we add this to your skill set. Nothing is worse than fighting an opponent with multiple styles, it'll give you a hell of an advantage."

Videl was still lost in thought, processing what Gohan said, about all the possibilities that it meant for fighting, about how many styles Gohan knew, about his father that he'd never mentioned before, and finally about how he got so damn strong. Whether she mentioned it or not, that slow kick hurt way more than it should have. "Yeah… yeah. I agree actually! But who would teach me the new style? You? Do you even know how to teach it? Also, how many styles do you know and how the hell did you learn them? And just how did you get so strong huh? Steroids or something?"

Gohan chuckled at all the questions, much to Videl's annoyance.

 _Well Saiyan heritage pretty much does count as steroids…_

"Okay, starting with the first, yeah I could help you and train you. I'm qualified enough to teach and I've done a bit of it before, so I'm not completely new at it. I know my fair share of styles, mostly variations of a few main forms, say about 3-ish give or take? More like three and a half but the half is a half new form I made on my own that's my favorite. I've gotten strong because I had to, that's all there really is to it I guess."

Videl scowled, not believing him fully, but after studying his face, decided that Gohan was telling the truth and she thought to herself

 _He really is a complete freak of nature then, isn't he. People that have trained their entire lives wouldn't have been able to master two forms, let alone 3 and I'm just starting with a variation to what I'm doing right now… Just how crazy is he!? And even if we were just warming up, I was starting to get a good sweat going and he doesn't look like he even moved, even with those cuts. What the hell is up with him…._

"Alright, sure sure, I'll believe you. But if you can't make me as strong as you then I won't believe it." She crossed her arms and smirked, lightening the mood.

Caught off guard by the smile Gohan decided to take a chance, "Well I guess the only difference in the training that I guess you did and the training that I did was that I trained mentally nearly as much, if not more than physically."

He was referencing ki as mentally training, since a lot of ki control was mental, so training your brain was the best way to master the art of ki manipulation. It wasn't really a lie, more of something Gohan wanted to implant in her mind to try and get her to pursue her potential.

"What does that even mean? Like thinking about fighting or what?!" Her deep blue eyes were furrowed in concentration, trying to grasp what her friend meant.

"Well, it's something that I had to start learning on my own and only happened what I was physically a little stronger than you… aaannd I don't think I would've figured out what the hell it meant so soon without almost dying in the process and that's just reckless." He thought back to some not so fond memories of Piccolo trying to train Gohan to use his ki. That mountain sure did hurt.

Videl looked in disbelief again, wondering whether or not to believe what came out of his mouth, but his sincere face combined with the matter of fact tone he took told her that he spoke the truth. _Hmm… maybe I should listen to him and just figure it out in time. Whatever it is, I'm sure I'll figure it out sooner rather than later if I keep training with him… Maybe if I play my cards right I can get him to tell me what he's talking about. "_ Alright then Gohan, if you're so strong, then how much can you lift? I bet I can win proportionally. C'mon, the weights here are for guys that's supposed to be strong, I dunno if I can even max out the machines. If I win, you tell me more about this mental training, if you win… I'll let you teach me no questions asked, sound good?"

Gohan raised an eyebrow, caught off guard by her challenge and wondered what was even in it for him, aside from some mental math for his and her body weight, along with what weights they should lift. "Well… uh alright I guess, let's go heat your foot and lead the way. We can do leg stuff some other time."

They both quickly forgot about the supposed cuts on Gohan's back, Videl wasn't one to think about much else other than whatever goal she sought to achieve. As she finished heating, she led gohan to the first set of weights, a simple bench press and explained the rules.

The man of the house, Hercule Satan watched the happenings on a security camera, visibly upset and psyching himself up to go in and yell at the teenager. Yet for some reason he was hesitant, something was familiar about the boy and some primal instinct told Hercule to not fight this guy, it was the same sort of feeling he got and ignored before fighting Cell. It sent a shiver up the man's spine as he watched the two go about their workout.

—

 **OtherWorld**

"Good Goku, you're almost there. Keep training and soon you'll be on par with these beasts, but sadly… it won't be enough. It can never be enough, all we can do is hope to prevent the inevitable. We're in a desperate struggle right now Mr. Son, you are playing a major role in it, I thank you, but you'll need to go heal and return to your training. We'll call upon you again as needed."

Goku scowled at the voice, which sent more blood running down his face from the massive gash over his eye. He stood barely upright over a disintegrated pile of ash before being Instant Transmissioned back to his training quarters.

 _There's got to be something more to this._

 _—_

 ** _AND BOOM, ENDING._**

 ** _Well folks, that's all for this chapter. A little shorter than normal, but I explained all that above. I honestly have no idea when I'll be able to update this again, but I do have a plan and the will to do it, so rest assured this fic won't die._**

 ** _Until then, I wish you all the best in your lives' endeavors and remember that I thank each and every one of you that click, favorite, follow, and most of all review, it inspires me even more to write and I can't thank everyone here enough for not flaming me for being gone so long._**

 ** _See ya guys next time :)_**


	12. Training

**WELL. It's been about four months… but let's just forget about that, eh? Heh. Life has been one hell of a rollercoaster and I've been busy as hell. On the bright side, finals week is over so now its summer and I'll have some more time to write! Hope I can continue to deliver and let's jump into the replies and story!**

 **Also, hope the writing was consistent. I had to start and stop this chapter so many times cause I'd write whenever I would have like a half hour to spare in the last couple weeks.**

 **REPLIES:**

 **Cookies United: Thank you, you'll get to see that this chapter!**

 **shadowwriter01: True, but the Son family is honest, almost to a fault. You'll see how the interactions go down, glad you're enjoying the story!**

 **Dratias: Glad you're enjoying it! It makes me happy to know that people still enjoy this** **J** **Also, I have a good plan for how the story will go, so hope you enjoy it!**

 **SeanHicks4: Well thanks!**

 **gabelou1991: Thank you also!**

 **dbzfan the first: Glad you're enjoying!**

 **Cruzerblade: Glad you're enjoying it and sorry about that man. Life just doesn't wait for anyone but nevertheless, I'll keep writing!**

 **mineking015: I'm glad you're enjoying it! As for the future plans… well I can't say those cause spoilers, so just wait and see** **J** **. Also, about Goku, he's just being pushed extremely hard and was just in a battle to the death. He was forced into some char dev.**

Finally, once all of the lifts were over and numbers recorded, the two calculated the results and Gohan ended up winning, but only marginally so. This annoyed Videl, but she was more in awe of just how little Gohan seemed to be working. While she was panting and sweating, her lifting partner looked like he'd just walked into the gym.

 _What the hell? How is this so easy for him? Did he even try!? And he even still won…_

"Well shit. Looks like you get to teach me now Gohan, when do you wanna start? We should make a schedule too… how about Monday Tuesday Thursday Friday? That way we have a rest day and we can see about weekends when they're here." Videl looked deep in thought, trying to figure out just how she could make the most of every second of training, a mindset Gohan could easily relate to.

"Uh… yeah I guess your right. As long as we don't take too long, I'd be fine with those days, but weekends might be kind of tough but we can see. We could start now with some basics then I'll probably have to head home and clean up."

"No, don't do that, we have gym showers here and I feel like I should treat you to dinner here! Especially if we're gonna be working out. Now let's start!"

The thought of food was enough to make Gohan want to stay and was more than happy to teach for it.

 _I can just train with Vegeta after dinner, get a good workout in, and go look around the city for some more criminals and try to do something about the damn crime rate here. Selfishly… I kinda hope she does realize how much stronger she is than her dad and if I can teach ki control…. Woah that'd be interesting._

 **A few hours later**

The two teens were finally done with their workout, showered and headed up to the massive dining room table in the Satan's mansion.

"Woah Gohan, I could actually see that helping! Even if it is just the basics." Videl seemed excitited at the prospect of actually making gains in her training rather than the plateau she had been at.

Smiling, the Saiyan nodded, "Yeah, I'm glad, you're really getting it quickly too, it's kinda amazing actually. But, that's only half of it."—Videl's eyebrow arched and she shot a questioning look at her friend—"we still have the mental half of this, which is probably more important than the actual physical training. You'll want to start with deep breathing and meditation, emptying yourself of everything and try to find your core. Once you can calm yourself, focus on fighting and every single variation of the forms and how you can use them to your advantage. Then, when you're actually into a fight you're brain will be trained to fight just as much as your body. It's actually amazing what it can do."

 _Well… I'm sure that will help and its not really a lie… This is the first step in ki control, finding your center and being calm. Her natural affinity for ki is so strong she might even find it on her own, now that would be crazy._

Looking skeptical, Videl accepted and promised she would dedicate herself to this mental training as well, wondering if it would really do anything to help her. They continued in conversation, sitting down at the table until they were interrupted by a loud cough as Mr. Satan entered the room.

"Hello Videl… who is this kid? A classmate or a new potential gym member?" Hercule added at the end with a trace of smugness in his voice.

The man's daughter laughed "No dad, this is Gohan, a new friend from school and my new sparring partner!" She left out that Gohan was training her, no doubt to preserve her father's pride.

Hercule furrowed his brow and gave Gohan a disapproving look. "This shrimp? Heh yeah right you could do better." He then grabbed a plate and sat down, and began to eat, not acknowledging the two any further. Videl looked outraged but Gohan had the good sense to hold his tongue and let out a shallow laugh. On the inside he was more than slightly annoyed.

"Dad, you don't know anything about Gohan! He's a great sparring partner and is even teaching me a new form!"

Hercule raised an eyebrow "Oh is that right? How can a kid like that teach anyone anything?" he was getting more annoyed by the second and tensions in the room were rising. A father was upset his daughter was taking interest in another and the daughter wanted nothing but independence.

"Whatever, he's a talented fighter and is teaching me more than you have been for a while!"

Hercule shot an angry look at the two of them "Oh really now? Well how about this. If this Gohan kid is really so good at fighting, then how about we spar after dinner. If he wins I'll allow him to train here, if not then he's got to go."

Videl's color drained at that, knowing that obviously no one was stronger than her father and stayed silent for a second. Then, a deep voice that had been absent from this conversation chimed in, "Sure. It'd be an honor to fight the champ and I hope I do well enough to train with your daughter."

They both looked at him in disbelief, this kid had just accepted a sparring match with the martial arts champion of the world! Videl looked concerned and upset while her father's confident smile returned. "It's a deal then."

So, the three ate dinner in silence and once it was over, they headed back down into the gym where they changed into fighting attire and took a stance in the ring that had been used just a few hours ago.

"Alright kid I can see you've trained a bit, so that just means I won't hold back quite as much. Ready 3.. 2.. 1.. Let's GO!"

A large afro bobbed back and forth across the ring in a classic fighter's stance, seeking to intimidate the kid who was trying to win over his daughter.

 _Damnit what should I do now? I think I should win… but how!? If I win he'll probably just claim he let me but that could be for the best… Alright, then I'll try and make it look close. Here goes nothing._

Gohan ducked under a wide hook thrown by the man opposite, grunted and faked a hard jab to Hercule's side, barley touching him. The punch was met with a hard grunt and retaliation in the form of a low kick which Gohan allowed to come into contact with before he jumped out of the way, missing with a kick of his own. The fight wore on like this for another minute or so before Mr. Satan, already becoming winded, finally decided to try and end it.

"Alright kid, enough running away, fight like a man!"

Hercule let out a grunt before leading with a quick right jab which was blocked by Gohan before rounding with his heel aimed at the Saiyans ribcage, which was met by air before finally launching himself at Gohan, attempting a take down. Slightly annoyed with the sloppiness of the champ, Gohan caught Satan's arm in one hand, put the other on his ribcage, lowered his center of gravity, dropped to a knee and launched the burly man out of the ring in a judo-like fashion.

 _Oh shit…_

Without meaning to, Gohan sent Mr. Satan out of the ring entirely, ending with him landing in a heap with a dull thud. Videl looked on with a mixture of shock, awe, jealously and anger that Gohan could have won so easily. The heap of muscle on the ground stirred before standing up.

"Well, you're more trained than you let on kid. That last move was a test and you've passed, I'll allow you to train with my daughter, just know that if you try any funny business… I won't go easy next time." He shot Gohan one last angry look before walking off.

 _Oh.. my God what the hell was that. It wasn't even human… I thought I was gonna be in danger of hurting the kid not this. It reminds me of the Cell games all those years ago… I better keep an eye on this kid._

"Gohan… that was insane!? What was that?" Videl asked with wide eyes, trained on Gohan's, studying him with an intense curiosity, like she was seeing an entirely new person standing before her. "I've never seen anyone pass a test from my dad… ever."

Gohan stood there awkwardly scratching an itch on the back of his head, "Uh.. I dunno. I don't think he really went that hard on me, I'm sure he just wanted to make sure I knew what I was doing, right?"

She shook her head, "Remember how I said Sharpner has been my only traning partner? Well my dad did something similar with other trainers that were world renowned, the only reason he was is because we've been friends since forever ago. Just how did you learn to get so strong…?"

"I… well I really dunno. Like I said, I've just done it my whole life and the guys who trained me… weren't exactly kind about it.." He let out a soft snort of laughter. "He was probably just taking it easy on me." Videl looked at him again, barely even sweating, as if he'd not even started a workout, yet he'd already been through one with herself and her father, who was the strongest man she knew.

Cocking a disbelieving eyebrow, Videl sighed, "Well sure I guess. Its late though Gohan and I've got some homework to do, if you have any you're more than welcome to finish up with me here?"

"Oh, uh no thanks, I finished all of mine already!" Gohan replied, gathering up his clothes and from the training room "Oh and I can walk home too. It'll be a good cooldown for all this training today, it shouldn't be too far!"

Videl let out a snort of laughter, "Alright, alright. You sure Gohan? It's a few miles or something like that to your house… and its dark. It wouldn't bother me to drive at all…"

Backpedaling and wanting some fresh air, Gohan simply replied, "Oh, no problem I was thinking of jogging anyways and I've never met a criminal I couldn't beat up, so I'll be fine!"

 _Heh, that's a baldfaced lie. I remember Freeza being just a bit stronger than me…_

He almost shuddered at the thought, then thought again and almost laughed about just how weak Freeza actually was. Videl waved her goodbyes to Gohan and reassured that they'd be working out again, day after day until they both became stronger.

Finally done with training, Gohan headed out of the side door of the gym, leaving the Satan's castle of a house. It was nearly pitch black now, save the moon and the air was sweet enough that the Saiyan simply stood there for a few seconds, pleasuring his lungs with it. Nodding to himself, Gohan walked the rest of the way out of the Satan's estate, down the street and around the corner before ducking into an alley and springing toward the sky, letting his energy carry him to his home by the school.

 _Well… today could've been worse I guess. I don't think she actually suspects anything and Hercule seems to be a little different. Videl has potential though… I wonder what she could accomplish with actual guided training in a year, now that would be impressive. I really should introduce her to ki control soon… but that'll be a difficult topic to ge—_

Just then, Gohan's ultra-sensitive ears picked up a disturbance that interrupted his internal conversation. It sounded like shouting and… metal against metal? Deciding it could be interesting to check out, Gohan unraveled his tail, made the easy ascension then quickly dimmed his aura, so he could witness the scene below before jumping in.

What Gohan saw made his stomach churn. A woman was knocked unconscious on the ground… it looked like someone that went to his school, someone he couldn't quite place his finger on but was sure looked familiar. She was laying face down in a small pile of dried blood, while another kid stood over her, fists raised with a metal pipe in hand, wide eyed and terrified, confronting the attackers. The other two simply looked at him and laughed, looking the part of a gangster, with tattoos of their gang signs on their neck. One held a long dagger and the other a knife, advancing on the lone defender.

Gohan caught the tail end of what one was saying, "… Stayed out of this, you wouldn't have been in this mess! You could've walked home and let us have a… _profitable_ night, but nooooo. You had to play Mr. Hero. Well guess what, kid? You're gonna die for it." Cackling, the man with the knife launched himself at the kid, with the other guy running close behind him.

 _Absolutely disgusting… They don't deserve to be alive after all we've went through. This isn't what we fought and died for to protect. There is still hope though, that kid is brave enough to stand up for what's right. Guess I'll help out a bit._

A sound like the clap of thunder echoed out as Gohan broke the sound barrier, shooting toward the ground, landing just in front of the defender, facing him. Another kid that looked familiar… Without looking back, Gohan grabbed the knife by the blade, shattering it in one hand while taking the strike of the baseball bat with his other forearm, bending it to an almost L shape. He gave a sad, knowing smile to the kid, who looked to be in pretty rough shape, cut up and bruised, barely standing.

"You did well, I respect you for this, but don't worry anymore. I'll take it from here, you call for an ambulance." Gohan's voice growled out, deeper and with a humming bass that seemed to reverberate in everyone's chest. These were words of power, confident, with each one carrying the weight of a hammer's blow.

All three gawked wide eyed at the glowing, tailed warrior in front of them. Without waiting for a response, Gohan quickly fell to one had and swept out the feet of the first assaulter, not bothering to be gentle and felt the satisfying crack of a shin-bone that was whole no longer. Carrying himself with the momentum of the sweep, Gohan propelled himself up to a standing position directly in front of the other attacker, hitting him square in the chest with an open palm, sending him flying back, breaking more than a couple ribs.

Making himself heard over the cries of pain, he said "Tell whoever your joke of a gang is that if they continue this disgusting behavior, they will all be met with the same fate. I will not stop, and you will not win."—he walked over to the man clutching his chin, grabbed his face and forced him to look the glowing beast in the face. Gohan's eyes, glowing teal with untold amounts of power were drilling into the man's skull, who was staring back with wide, glossy eyes, terrified but unable to move. — "I won't stop at this either… You cowards never seem to run out of bones to break."

Proving a point, Gohan sent his fist through the concrete next to the man's head, sinking it in up to his elbow, shaking the ground around them. Finally, the gang member passed out from sheer terror. He turned around to see the kid he'd just saved hang up the phone, and Gohan offered up an apologetic smile. "Sorry you had to see that... Ambulance should be here soon, so I'll be heading out. Stay safe."

With that, the mysterious glowing warrior shot into the air with a blast of golden energy, heading in a random direction before powering down and returning back to his new home, ready for a good night's rest. It seemed like holding back so much took more out of him than actually fighting.

The next day, rumors of a mysterious glowing gold hero ran through the school. Apparently, last night two students were walking home when a couple of thugs tried to rob them and when they were about to kill both of them, a huge glowing man just appeared in front of them, beat up the other two and vanished. There was also talk today of how three kids were home today, one because of a concussion, another because of a broken shin, and the last because of broken ribs. Orange Star High was a whirlwind of stories, speculation, and heresy.

"Videl! Gohan! Did you guys hear about last night!?" Erasa bounced up to the two black haired teens. Looking interested, Sharpner joined in on the conversation, listening intently.

"Yeah, I've heard about it and I was just going to ask Gohan about it. It was supposed to happen around where he was walking home last night"—Sharpner's eyebrows flew up at this—"…Well Gohan? Did you see anything?" Videl asked, obviously not seeing her friend's reaction.

 _How the hell did everyone find out about last night so fast!? It was like 12 hours ago! High school is insane…_

"Well no I didn't see anything… Do you think that really happened? Is there really someone like that out there?" He did his best to act genuinely amazed at the story, which seemed like it worked, as everyone stood silent, thinking about it for a second before Sharpner finally responded, "Nah, no way. It was probably just some cop with a flashlight that helped them out. No way something like that is real."

The group nodded their heads in agreement and then they were silent for a moment when the bell rang, calling the students back to class. The rest of the day it seemed like the entire school was talking about the glowing superhero of last night, Gohan couldn't get away from it and was starting to get a bit overwhelmed towards the end of the day. He was looking forward to headed home and taking a nice long nap, seeking to forget the worries of the day and wonder why high schoolers were so good at spreading rumors.

 _I need to leave… if one more person asks me about last night I'll just own up to it and say it was me. Maybe they'd leave me alone then…_

The Saiyan's thoughts were interrupted by a firm, but not unkind shove from behind. "Ready for training Gohan? I've got a lot of homework so I wanna get started right away, c'mon let's goo." Without thinking twice, Videl grabbed Gohan's hand, dragging him towards the exit.

He sighed in defeat, knowing that he'd never hear the end of it if he'd miss a training session and let himself be dragged away, to train the stubborn Videl. In secret, Gohan thought this could've been nearly as good as the nap. He would never show it, but the Saiyan found solace in these sessions. Nothing was complicated and Gohan knew exactly what to expect and could be at ease during such low level combat. Yet something inside him was bitter, accusatory even saying that he shouldn't be allowed to take leisure time for this. He should be seriously training, clawing his way above all other peers, never wavering in intensity. After all, he'd let the two most important people in his life die because he wasn't strong enough, so how could he have time to throw away on such self-indulging activities?

It was for this exact reason that Gohan couldn't simply enjoy school. A dark part of him was constantly at odds with his lighter, self-forgiving half. As a result, he was always sort of refrained from social activity. He'd participate, but only on the surface. He thought he was putting up an act, but both Videl and Erasa had noticed he was holding something back, but were much too socially adept to pry for information. When their new friend was ready to talk, then they'd be there. It was a delicate balance that would be impossible to maintain forever.

The days carried on like this and soon two full weeks had passed. Videl was showing remarkable improvement, applying her new form in sparring matches. Mentally, she was still waiting for that breakthrough and was stuck, becoming annoyed with both herself and her teacher. He sensed this and would try to help out Videl and as a result, their sessions would go longer and longer, forcing Gohan to train later and later and soon he was getting two hours of sleep a night, stretching himself thin.

On one of these nights, Videl had effectively started using a few techniques in combat, which was a good day for the both of them, but it was a late night. After a particularly grueling combat training session with Vegeta, Gohan drug himself home, longing for the comfort of his bed. A quick shower later, sleep finally found him… but barely an hour past when a faint scratching sound woke Gohan. His door slowly creaked open.

Fully awake now, he sprung out of bed, the moonlight barely illuminating the outlines of furniture in the apartment, but to his hybrid vision, it might as well have been daylight. Floating an inch above the ground, so as not to make a sound, he crept into the living room, finding a man frantically rummaging through capsules, shoving them into his bag.

"Uh… can I help you?" his voice was casual, almost uncaring and the man yelped, jumping in the air before unsheathing his knife and launching himself at Gohan. He looked down in disgust at the man and let the knife strike him in the stomach. The man's inexperienced hand slipped down to the blade, slicing his hand open. He let out a groan before collapsing in a heap, apologizing for his actions, hysteria creeping in his voice.

 _His heart obviously isn't in it… so why try and rob me? His body language is nowhere near a fighter's, he doesn't even know how to hold a damn knife, and now he's sobbing… something else has to be happening here._

His face an impassive mask, Gohan calmly walked over to his first aid supplies, grabbed the man's hand, and none too gently bandaged it. "Why did you try and rob me?" the question was flat, but dangerous, demanding honesty.

The man looked at him with red, pleading eyes, "I…. uh…. Well I owe some money to a bad group of people." He looked down, ashamed of his situation and unnerved at the calmness of the person across the room.

"I see… is a loan shark bad enough to make you turn to robbery? Surely there's another way."

The robber shook his head, "If only it was a loan shark. A gang ran them out of town and violence is their answer to everything"—he showed a healing injury on his forearm—"they said next time I couldn't make a payment, they'd make me 'disappear'…"

Gohan raised an eyebrow at that, "A new gang? Who are they? What are they doing here?" Emotion crept into his voice.

Knowing it would be nothing short of stupid to withhold the truth, the man told Gohan everything, "Well… they call themselves the Blood Ribbon Mob and they basically took over the underground. That's all I know… I mean there's rumors they're plotting to overthrow the government or some crazy shit like that but…" and he faded off into a nervous silence.

 _A gang? The Blood Ribbon Mob… What the hell? Is that a play on words for the Red Ribbon Army? Idiots. I probably should check that out after all… rumors can be pretty close to the truth._

"Do you know where they are?"

The man looked taken aback, "Uh.. well.. I know where to go to pay and I think it's an important place… why?"

"Take me there." The command allowed no room for argument and without waiting for a response started towards the door. The robber sat there for a second, then followed babbling along the way. Once in the car, the man finally spoke up, "I can't do this… they'll kill me if I show up without money!"

Gohan sighed, "Yeah, don't worry about that. Just drop me off, point me in the right direction, then you can skulk off to whatever hole you hide in."

Silence again reined, only broken by the low hum of the engine. Finally, they arrived at a ran down building that looked abandoned, but Gohan's ears could pick up the distinct sounds of a fight. He stepped out of the car and less than a second later, the car's engine roared to life as the failed robber sped off, away from this insane situation.

 _What's that noise? It sounds like maybe… four people fighting? Three men and a girl, but other than that I can't tell much else._

He floated up to the top of the building, masking his aura and opting to stay in base form to blend in with the night sky. The roof was almost peaceful until he looked down at the scene below. One man laid on the ground, holding his freshly broken arm. Two white streaks of bone were visible in the moonlight, sticking out from the skin. Another man was holding a pistol, looking for an opportunity for an easy kill. The third man had a knife and was charging a lone, raven haired girl who was settled in an extremely familiar fighting stance. Gohan caught a glance of her brilliant blue eyes, burning with intensity.

He nearly stumbled off the roof right then and there. Videl Satan was trying to take down a gang.

 **Alright and DONE! Hope everyone enjoyed. I left off with a minor cliffhanger. Expect action and badassery next chapter (my favorite parts to write as of now) along with another peek into Goku's situation. I'll try to have this one done within the month lol but we'll see.**

 **Let me know what you thought and thank you guys so much for being patient! It means a lot.**


	13. INTERMISSION, NOT STORY RELATED

Alright guys, I'm at a bit of a crossroads as to what to do with this story. It really is tough to update it with life and all that shit and I'd love to keep continuing it, but I have way too many other responsibilities, along with other hobbies, and college is starting like next week.

So today I decided just to blow off some steam, relieve some stress and stream some video games. I'd love to discuss the story and play games with any readers and hopefully have you guys understand where I'm coming from. Hope this doesn't come across as spammy or anything, but I thought it could be cool.

About halfway done with the next chap tho ;3

Here's the stream link! .tv/thexenoproject


	14. Rooftop

**Well… Hi again. Lol. It really has been a while and I apologize, 18 credits in a computer science degree, along with learning for an internship that I may or may not get, along with everything else I'm trying to do. I got some bad luck with professors and end up spending most my time in their office hours to try and get some better grades and all that, sooo yeah. Life's a bitch, heh. Anyways, here's the next chapter and I hope everyone enjoys it! It was written over the span of a month or two, and I tried to keep up the quality!**

 **Replies:**

 **Dratias: Hey, really glad to see you were still into the story after so long! Hope this chapter keeps you entertained as well! Also, thank you for the kind words! I try to spell check and all that but I'm usually working on this at like 2 in the morning, so I might miss a couple… Hope I didn't let anyone down with this update!**

 **CreedMaster1715: Thanks man! I kinda hoped to capture a bit more of a darker side in the story too, so glad you're enjoying.**

 **NinjaFang1331: Thanks!**

 **Cruzerblade: Thanks! I was really hoping they didn't seem too goofy and wanted to distance it a bit from dragon ball, but keep it with the theme.**

 **shugokage: Thanks!**

 **nicolezhao16: Thanks! I am planning to take a similarish path but with a twist, heh.**

 **dbzfan the first: hah… my bad!**

 **Destruidor: This story does not 100 percent follow the original story, because this is a fanfic. It would be boring if it was the same story, also, potential changes. Remember when Gohan had his potential unlocked on Namek?**

 **jazocoti: Thanks!**

 **Reign Of Sorrow: I always appreciated the idea of it, hated it in execution. Soo yeah.**

 **Gareth8642: HERE YA GO**

 **Ern Estine 13624: Well don't wait, here ya go!**

 **Sirius Potter2: He's been training quite a bit, I just haven't written out the scenes where he is training, but that could be an interesting addition to the story!**

 **WiffleDick678: Oh I did.**

 **Guests: Thanks for checking out the story and I hope you guys come back!**

 **Well, let's get on with the story!**

 _What… what the hell!? Is THIS why she wanted me to train her? She's insane. Certifiably! But… she doesn't seem to be losing anyway... maybe I should let her test her new abilities, I know I wish I could._

So, a lone figure stood on a rooftop watching the scene play out below with such intensity that he forgot to even breathe.

"What the hell?! Larry you puss she's just a dumb broad how'd you get your damn arm snapped!?" A rather ugly man, holding a pistol was yelling at the man on the ground, who was going into shock at the sight of his own bone outside his body. "Argh, idiot, well Butch, knife the bitch or give me a clear shot."

An overly excited grunt came from a hulking man who wore a grease stained muscle shirt and worn out jeans. His posture showed his stupidity, but brute strength like his was nothing to underestimate. Videl knew this and went on the defensive. The man let out another grunt and swung his arm in a huge arc, the tip of the knife aimed for Videl's neck. She read his movement and dropped down to one hand, immediately performing a hard foot sweep, taking the giant off of his feet.

Gohan smirked and felt a touch of pride for his student. She had come far in her training in such a short amount of time and it was showing. Her body moved without excess motion, each breath and strike had a purpose and she was remarkably calm.

A dull thud came from the man's body when it hit the ground and for a second he sat there motionless. Then, he sprang up with surprising amount of agility and roared out with a voice that carried only a lust for blood. Again, he dashed at Videl, who met his ferocity with a cold glare and she dropped back in her stance. The blade swung wildly, whistling through the air, thirsting for flesh yet it could find none. Videl kept ducking and weaving through Butch's swings, but he was like a feral animal, enraged and no longer thinking, so it was extremely difficult for her to return a blow.

Eventually, he put just a bit too much in a slash that nearly connected, and was thrown off balance. Taking advantage of the momentary weakness, Videl delivered a hard strike to the man's ribs, hopefully cracking at least one and followed up by driving a knee into her enemy's nose, followed by another crunch.

However, instead of doubling over, Butch grabbed Videl's extended knee and lifted up with all his strength.

The night sky spun in Videl's vision, she was shocked the man could even function after taking a shot like that. But, this shock didn't last long, as the ground quickly brought her back to reality. She made to jump back up but only made it to a crouching position when she found herself a split second away from the steel of the knife blade. Her mind went blank and as some last form of defense, threw her hand up to try and stop her own death.

"NO!" Gohan bellowed out and in the time it took for his yell to reach the ears of his friend's attackers, he was there, in the second state of Super Saiyan, ready to rip the entire building apart. He would not let anyone else he cared about get hurt, and seeing his friend a second away from death angered him in a dangerous way. Yet, just before he swatted the man away, Gohan felt a surge of wild, uncontrolled ki.

One moment Butch was swinging his weapon, about to confirm yet another kill, the next there was a blinding flash of light and a hole the size of a basketball ripped through his chest. Eyes wide and confused, he toppled over with another dull thud and the air reeked of burnt flesh.

Videl stared wide-eyed and terrified at the lifeless corpse in front of her. She fell to her knees and met a glowing yellow man's eyes. They both were wide eyed and surprised, distantly, she thought the towering man looked familiar, but his eyes were a glowing turquoise and he was larger, more fearsome than Gohan. Not to mention the tail. But what was on his forehead..?

Before she could think about anything much further, the man with the gun finally spoke up.

"Butch!? What the FUCK!? You cheating bastards! DIE ALL OF YOU" A maniacal scream came from the man, only to be drowned out by the barking of his pistol. Videl ducked, terrified, thinking that the guy in front of her would be torn to shreds, then her shortly after. For the second time that night, she was left speechless when the familiar looking golden man turned around and nonchalantly caught every single bullet from the gun.

"Just like the news…" Videl whispered, in shock.

Gohan shot a glare at the man holding the pistol, with such a deadly intention that the man turned pale. Before he could say anything else, the golden figure appeared in front of him and sent him careening into the wall of the building.

 _Probably would have killed him if I was in Super Saiyan 3… What the hell do I do now?_

He turned around and came face to face with Videl, who had recovered enough to stand. Gohan saw her eyes linger on his forehead and felt a shot of ice hit him in the stomach.

"Gohan…?"

 _….Fuck._

He gave a short nod and sighed. "Well… yeah."

"What… just happened? I don't know what just.. Did I… _kill_ him?" her voice broke as she finished her sentence and tears welled up in her eyes. She buried her face in her hands and began to cry in earnest. Shocked and unexperienced in dealing with people like this, Gohan stood there awkwardly before placing a hand on her shoulder. At his touch, Videl fell into the arms of the man who had just saved her life.

 _I couldn't just pretend I didn't know her… What the hell did I do? I gave this girl all the tools to use ki, but I never thought… Damnit._

The two stood there, embrace for no more than a minute before Gohan started to hear footsteps and the distinct clinking sound of a gun being cocked. In an instant he appeared in front of a window two stories above and bent the rifle, throwing the man out the window, followed by the now scrap metal.

"Videl, we need to go." His tone was kind but firm. To his surprise, Videl stood, wiped her eyes and shook her head.

"I… I can't. I need to do what I came here to do."

Puzzled, Gohan raised an eyebrow, "Which is..?" He hated to admit it, but the saiyan had a faint sense of admiration for the girl, to be so strong and driven, even at a time like this.

"Well… I made a promise to myself that I would bring the leader of this place into the police station, that way my dad would have to listen to me. I've seen what these guys can do. Some kids at school have been involved with them and… well nothing is off limits. Drugs, murder, even extortion. These people need to be stopped and I know it's a stupid reason, but I have to do this." She ended with a confident tone, almost daring Gohan to call her wrong, or crazy, getting a touch of her old fire back.

"Would you die for it? You would have been just another victim if I wasn't here." Gohan looked her straight in the eyes, forcing honesty.

"…I… Yes." She was no longer nearly as bold or confident, but her resolve was strong as ever.

"Alright then, let's go." And with that, he walked into the disgusting building. It smelled of various drugs, sweat and sex. The bottom floor was pitch black, but he could see a light coming from a stairwell, so they moved towards that.

"I think their leader is here, at least for today. He has a helicopter on the roof of the building, so I think he'd be on the top floor somewhere. Don't think we aren't going to talk about tonight either, Gohan. I have a lot of questions." Videl shot a look at him and began to head towards the stairway.

"Wait, let's be smart about this, follow me." And Gohan went back towards the exit, followed by a slightly confused and annoyed Videl. Once they went back outside, she gave him an inquisitive look.

"We go up." He said matter of factly.

"Uh… what?"

"Watch." Gohan walked over, picked up Videl like a princess and floated up to the top floor of the building and into the window.

 _What the hell have I gotten myself into…_

Videl's eyes instantly shot open as the ground distanced itself from the two.

"So… what the hell? This is _insane._ Gohan we're going to have a long discussion about this."

She tried to sound stern, but Gohan picked up the tone of awe and excitement that Videl couldn't quite keep hidden and for some reason, that made him happy. After all she had seen today, it was about time she had something to distract her from it, however brief.

Once the pair reached the top of the building, the chopper had its blades spinning in full effect. Gohan focused his ki and found that there were 15 people on the rooftop, with one ki that dwarfed them all. A mercenary maybe? But the most troubling thing Gohan felt was the lack of presence in the building itself. It was like they had evacuated everyone or even like there was never anyone there in the first place.

Whatever the case, as soon as the pair stepped foot on the concrete, Gohan immediately identified the man with the comparatively massive ki, a hulking brute with scars on nearly every visible inch of his skull. Videl was now on her own two feet and looked slightly hesitant about the arsenal of the 15 men. Each carried some form of assault rifle, handgun and more than likely, some sort of dagger. The man next, she noticed, was as calm as ever and laid a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

In the second it took for the gang to notice them, Gohan had already flew over, broke several of the hulking man's ribs and sent him into the side of the chopper so hard that it left a dent, almost flipping it over completely. He lay there without moving. This was followed by an uproar of rage and confusion, which Gohan added to by bellowing as he powered up to super saiyan. Videl got the message loud and clear, as she stealthily incapacitated two other men before darting behind a vent in the roof.

12 men were left and a squad of four made their way to the chopper, while the other eight turned and unleashed their rifles on the glowing man before them. Not a single one found its mark and in another flash, four more men lay on the ground shouting out in pain. The next four met the same fate shortly after.

In the fray, Gohan lost sight of Videl for a split second and found her again chasing down the group getting in the helicopter. Immediately, Gohan noticed something wasn't right and went to help, but before he could rid himself of the last man attempting to put up a fight, on more shot rang out. The man who Gohan assumed was the leader, as he was in the center of the body guards, was the only one to notice Videl sneaking up behind them. She let out a strangled, pained scream and dropped to the ground, holding her stomach.

Not even a second later, an explosion sounded off below the building and the helicopter lifted up from the roof as it begam to collapse.

"VIDEL!?" Gohan instantly focused his attention on his classmate and nothing else, unknowingly he made the leap to super saiyan and the world seemed to slow around him. Before the roof collapsed more than a couple feet, he had managed to locate Videl's bloodstained body, grab her, and shoot up from the roof.

 _Fuck, fuck, fuck she's already lost so much blood… did that guy shoot a hollow point round? Bulma said those were some of the worst injuries to treat… argh DAMN IT!_

The aura around the two flickered and expanded out, mimicking the emotions of the Saiyan.

 _I don't have time for this shit and this really is my fault… whatever. Sorry Korrin, I'll owe you one._

To what looked like a shooting star to most bystanders on the ground, Gohan expanded his aura around VIdel's body and let some of his energy seep into her, in an attempt to keep her conscious and alive longer. They made eye contact for a second and it reassured him how life like her eyes were. She looked like she was either in shock or pain, but that was better in the alternative.

A few minutes later, Gohan arrived at the lookout, and was met by a startled looking cat creature, whose fur was a mess and sleep hung under his eyes.

"Uh, what's up Goha—What the hell happened there?! She looks like hell, what have you been doing man!?" Korrin sprinted back to his plants, and grabbed one of the precious senzu beans. The very same that had helped save so many lives before.

"Thanks Korrin, I owe you one… This… well, I dunno how to explain this.." His voice trailed off with guilt as he fed Videl the senzu. Almost immediately she started to recover, her wound closed and she was fully alert within a couple minutes.

The old cat saw the look on Gohan's face. Panic, fear, uncertainty, all followed by a look of pure relief. Korrin always had a knack for reading people and he could tell that Gohan was actually scared. Of what, he could only guess, probably the girl getting hurt, but it looked like it was more than that. Ultimately, he decided it was better not to pry, so once he made sure his work was done, he cleared his throat, "Well, since you kids woke me up from a nice little cat nap- heh- I think I'll head back to bed. Feel free to recover here for a while, good seeing you again Gohan!" and with that, Korrin rambled back to bed.

Silence. Neither of the two left knew how to break the silence. So much needed to be said, but neither of them could start. Now that the adrenaline wore off, the two noticed how cold the night was and Videl shivered. She was still in a blood-soaked shirt.

"Oh! Uh, sorry hold on a second, I'll grab you a sweatshirt!" Without waiting for a response, he turned around and jumped off the railing, and sped off in a flash of clear energy. Videl went to jump up and stop him before realizing that this Gohan is a completely different person than the person she knew before. Now that she thought about it, the thought scared her. Who was he really and what was he hiding? It was so easy to just accept that he was different while she was fighting for her life, but now that the adrenaline wore off… just what the hell was that?

 _And what the hell… I remember getting shot… but there is nothing here! I lost a lot of blood, I can see that by my shirt and I remember Gohan flying me over here.. That's right! He was flying! HOW!? Gah I can't even think straight. All I know is that this guy saved my life and is probably the biggest liar I've ever met._

She decided that the moment he returned, Gohan better answer every question she had, and then some.

To her surprise, he returned back with a sweatshirt a few seconds later, where he got it from or how, she had no idea. All she knew is that it was good to get out of that bloodsoaked mess of a shirt and into something warm… The sweatshirt smelled like clean linen and something was homey about it, relaxing she thought. Shaking her head, she furrowed her brow at the enigma that was Gohan.

"Okay, who are you, how did you do all that, what aren't you telling me, did I get shot, how come you're sometimes blonde, are you like a robot!? WHAT THE HELL GOHAN!? What's going on!? One second you're a normal, kinda weird dude who is good at martial arts, the next… THIS happens! Explain EVERYTHING DAMNIT!" By the time she finished with her rant, she was breathing hard and advancing on the wide eyed Gohan, pointing an accusatory finger at him all the while.

Then she caught herself, "Oh…uh and thanks and stuff. You helped me out a lot back there…" She gave a halfhearted smile and sat back down on the stone floor.

Gohan looked wide eyed and was lost for words, he had no idea where to begin, what to say, should he keep some truths from her or lock them away? He had no clue.

 _Whatever I guess… she's already seen this much, it's just a matter of time at this point before she tells someone else. Here goes nothing…_

 _Other World_

Finally healed again, and stronger yet because of it, Son Goku stood before a massive training ground, where fighters of all levels were struggling to gain skill and strength. Some were on par with Frieza, others made Cell look like a child, and others still were at all levels inbetween. If he had to, Goku would have placed himself within the top 3 fighters in the group. The fighting force was remarkably strong, yet their adversary was on another level.

The gods called upon the greatest fighters throughout time and space to gather and combat an unnamed enemy. Their power was great, paired with regenerative powers and odd magic's, making these creatures all but invulnerable. Goku had only taken down one, and it almost claimed his soul because of it. The beast had almost erased Son from existence, yet he persevered.

Their reason for fighting was simple, "Defend the universe." King Kai told Goku that all of existence was threatened by an ancient enemy who had resurfaced from the furthest reaches of the universe. Only now, this enemy was stronger and had somehow multiplied. The heavens were in danger of being all but annihilated, which could threaten the very fabric of reality itself.

All this meant to Goku was that his family was in greater danger than they ever had been. So, naturally, he focused on training, with more intensity than any thought possible. Nearly being erased from existence changed the Saiyan. He took the weight of the entire war on his shoulders and set a goal to end it himself and would accept nothing less.

 _It was time to train._ Harder than ever before. Father, like son, both share the same goal, "to protect those they love". Nothing would stop them from achieving this, not even the gods themselves.

 **AND SCENE. Holy balls it's been a while, but school has literally and figuratively been killing me. Srsly m8, it is STUPID. On the bright side, it's almost break so I can start on another update within a couple weeks or so. No promises on a release date, but if you're still reading, thanks so much for bearing with me through the long absence. I promise I still have a plan and I will finish this damn thing! So, I'm going to be on break again in a month or so, which means I can continue working on the next chapter and hopefully release it then!**

 **Let me know what you guys thought!**


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